Those Who Wander are Quite Lost Part III
by Pipkin in the Grass
Summary: Almost there and not Yet Back. As the war draws near it's climax, the shinobi struggle to not leave their mark on Middle Earth. Meanwhile, the Fellowship and its allies attempt to unravel the mysteries that surround Hoshi, from the mundane to the intruiging. A new nuisance follows the shinobi into Middle Earth. Could it simply be an annoyance, or something far more threatening?
1. Chapter 1

**AN****:**

**Thank you Deadzepplin, DreamingIn2Eternity and Immortalis Cruor Elf for reviewing my previous story. Also thank you to atwistedconundrum for putting me on their author alert's.**

**This story was not late, it arrived precisely when it ment to. Sorry for the long wait. I had a lack of inspiration and right now I have a nasty cold so I feel like sh!t. Expect slow updates for this story and keep in mind that this is not my job.**

**Is it too late to do a disclaimer? Everyone already knows that I am just an inquisitive fan of both these series.**

**Those Who Wander are Quite Lost Part III**

**Almost There and not Yet Back  
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><p>"Are we there yet?" grumbled Anko from Cookie.<p>

"For the last time, no!" cried Rin, exasperated. The shinobi had decided to join Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer, Thèoden, Legolas and Gimli on their trip to Isengard. The petite medic sulked slightly, not pleased with the seating arrangements for the journey. Obito and Kakashi had their own wargs, while Susano'o had his Seabird summon. Hoshi rode with Susano'o for the first three hours, switching with Kuro when the group stopped for lunch and other matters.

"We still have plenty of distance to cover," added the tall boy, who was perched behind Aragorn.

Anko looked crushed. "Wha-wh-what?" she sputtered. "But I'm bored!"

Rin rolled her dark eyes. "Can't you play I Spy or sing a song?" she asked her fellow kunoichi.

The Snake Sannin's student frowned in concentration. "I spy something brown,"

"Your warg," answered Rin.

"The dirt," said Hoshi.

When she shook her head, both shinobi tried again.

"Rin's hair,"

"Hoshi's hair,"

Grinning, Anko again shook her head.

Rin sighed. "Aragorn's boots?" she asked, beginning to give up.

"The horse?" Hoshi guessed hesitantly.

The kunoichi shook her head, but gave them a hint. "You were the closest when you were guessing hair," she said with a smirk.

"My hair," interjected the ranger with a faint smile on his lips.

"_Ding Ding Ding_,we have a winner!" declared Anko. "So now it's your turn,"

Aragorn blinked. It appeared that he wasn't expecting to join their game.

"I spy something red,"

Rin frowned in concentration, looking for anything in that color.

"The fan on Obito's back," she guessed. Aragorn shook his head.

"Eomer's armor?" guessed Hoshi. The ranger nodded, smiling slightly.

Hoshi grinned broadly and took his turn. "Alright, I spy something blue..."

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><p>"<em>Sayonara, aenaku natta tte<em>

_bokura wa tsudzuki ga aru kara._

_Kimi no inai sekai datte_

_hashiru yo _

_itsuka no itami mo_

_koete!"_

Obito, Kakashi and Minato-sensei had been exchanging songs with Legolas and Eomer for most of the ride, despite the fact that they weren't the best singers. Both blondes ended up recieving the translation seal on their ears to understand the songs, which they found to be quite odd.

"Unlike us, your songs do not tell the history of your people," said Eomer as the travelers entered a forest. "So then what purpose do they serve in your land?"

Obito shrugged. "Entertainment, I guess. Music is usually used to set a mood or to express feelings,"

Legolas's eyes brightened with understanding. "So that is why your songs speak nonsense!" he cried.

Gimli, who had listened to all the songs without the benefit of translation, snorted.

"They all sounded like nonsense to me," he muttered.

Legolas shook his head. "They are marvelous works of poetry, using metaphors and words to express feelings and events," he praised.

Obito raised an eyebrow and Kakashi shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"Umm, Thanks," Minato-sensei looked rather embarressed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't feel that we did the songs justice," he mumbled.

"Why not?" asked Eomer, wearing an interesting mix of curiosity and confusion on his face. "Your singing voices are not half-bad,"

"You guys were singing?" called a hurt voice. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Obito looked up between the branches to see his cousin, Kuro, and Susano'o, jumping from tree to tree.

"You were up on a bird," said Kakashi tonelessly.

"But still..." whined the Uchiha. Susano'o raised a bandaged hand, cutting his teammate off.

"Isengard is just up ahead, and I think we are in for a surprise," he remarked before bounding ahead.

"A surprise? What kind of a surprise?" Legolas wondered aloud.

Minato-sensei chewed his lip for a second. "If it has anything to do with Orochimaru, count on it being gruesome,"

Obito was unable to surpress a shudder from running through his body. He had heard tales of the Snake Sannin's bloodlust and sadisim on the battlefield from his father. Nobody who fought with the Legendary Ninja was quite the same afterward, bar his original teammates.

Legolas paled significantly while Gimli and Eomer seemed unphased.

"Then let us hope the surprise has nothing to do with him," stated Gimli as the group began to exit the forest.

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><p>Merry had decided that this day was one of the best days of his life. He and Pippin, with the Ents, had defeated Isengard and locked up Saruman in his tower. To celebrate the victory, the two hobbits had found a pantry full of good food, ale, and best of all, Longbottem leaf. Oh, and they ended up befriending a giant purple snake, but that was a minor detail.<p>

_«"Your kind is very strange, Hole-dweller,"» _the serpent mumbled, having listened to the tale of his and Pippin's adventures up to this point. _«"My summoner would like to learn more about your kind,"»_

Merry had not yet met the so-called "summoner", and was not eager to meet him. The snake, or Manda, had placed its head near the stone wall that both hobbits were reclining on, smoking the lovely pipeweed. Merry was just about to start a tale about a prank he performed in his youth when the whinnies of a horse drifted into his ears. Laughing, Pippin lifted his stein in a salute to Gandalf and the others who were drifting out of the forest.

Standing up, Merry removed the pipe from his mouth and said:

"Welcome, my lords to Isengard!" he gestured to the tower behind him. Gandalf seemed to be stunned, looking at the fortress with disbelief.

"Damn, they leveled the place," muttered a female voice. Merry picked out the speaker as an unfamiliar shinobi, who was sitting on a dog-like creature.

"I think you might need to look up the definition of 'level', my friend," returned Hoshi in a low voice.

"Young rascels!"cried Gimli, Pippin as saluted the dwarf with his pipe. "

"We are stitting," replied the younger hobbit. "On the field of victory, enjoying some well-earned comfort. The salted pork is **perticularly **good,"

Gimli's anger disappeared. "Salted pork?" he asked.

Manda gave a snort, causing the new arrivals to jump and turn their attention to the purple snake.

_«"You know nothing of good meat,"»_ he grumbled. _«"Give me a toad and twenty human females any day!"»_

At that, Aragorn and two blonde men had their horses take a step back, a well hidden look of fear in their eyes.

"That will do, Manda," commanded a silky, venomous voice. Merry whirled around to see a man that was paler than death, with long black hair and sepentine eyes. "Since you didn't do the job I asked of you, you shall not receive your payment. Go, before I decide to explore your innards,"

Hissing angerly, the colassal serpent disappeared with a puff of white smoke. The man turned to the company, wearing a genuine smile.

"As Merry said, welcome to Isengard,"


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**

**Thank you GlidingOne, Immortalis Cruor Elf, Purple Pallbearer, and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Another thank you goes to Immortalis Cruor Elf, atwistedconundrum, GlidingOne, Purple Pallbearer, WolfDemon1000 and NarayaEdea for putting this on their story alerts. Also Thank you Immortalis Cruor Elf, child-of-paradox-and-chaos, and kupochan14 for favoriting this story. The last thank you goes to longsilver777 for listing me as one of their favorite authors.**

**Sorry for the wait, but I was busy. I believe that this is the longest chapter that I have ever written, and I would appriciate all sorts of feedback on it.**

**Thank you for your support and on with the show!**

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><p>Minato was glad that Manda did not see him. The summon did not like him, and had often tried to eat the yellow-haired man.<p>

"I take that this is a colleague of yours," said Gandalf to the jōnin. "And the serpent was his summon,"

"And you must be Gandalf, formerly the Grey," said the Snake Sannin, who approached the White Wizard. "Saruman has complained about you quite bitterly,"

Gandalf's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Has he now?" murmered the old man.

The black-haired jōnin turned his attention to the shinobi.

"Judging by the fact you are all in one piece and here, I presume that you battle was a victory," he said with a cunning smile on his lips.

Minato frowned. "It doesn't take long to send a message, so then why did you not come to Helm's Deep?" he asked.

The older shinobi waved him off. "We'll discuss the subject further when we get inside these walls. The biodiversity of the world is amazing!"

Somewhere in the trees came an annoyed groan from Kuro and Susano'o. Their teacher found them and gave the two a sharp look.

"Show a little appriciation for the natural world!" he snapped, before turning to Gandalf. "Please come in, I believe that an old friend would like to talk to you,"

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><p>Obito knew that it was impolite to stare, yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene in front of him.<p>

"Hoshi, the trees are moving," he said dumbly.

"And talking," added Rin in awe.

"How is that possible?" whispered Kakashi, his eyes filled with wonder.

Hoshi wore a wide grin as he looked up at one of the tree people, who's name was Treebeard.

"All my life I have desired to meet an Ent," he said respectfully. "And who should I meet but Old Fangorn himself!"

The shinobi had left their wargs behind at the spot where they had found Merry and Pippin, with Orochimaru's team guarding them.

_"We have had enough of Isengard," declared Kuro. "As lovely as it is to see it in a state of defeat, we have no desire to set foot on the property of the Many-colored Monkey ever again,"_

Obito had laughed when he realized that Saruman could be interperted as "Monkey Man". But all thoughts of the insulting nickname had vanished when the tree-people had caught his eye.

Wading through at least two feet of water, a bearded one approached them.

"Hmmm, Young Master Gandalf," it had rumbled. "I'mmm glad you've come,"

Minato-sensei's eyes had widened at the greeting. "Shukaku's balls," he whispered.

"Ah, yes," said Orochimaru in a scholarly voice. "This is an Ent, or a tree-hearder, which possesses the characteristics of the trees they tend,"

The Ent had approached the shinobi, who were standing together near Gandalf. Hoshi's flattering comment had caused Treebeard to smile.

"And it is a pleasure to meet you, little elfling," he hummed, causing Hoshi to rub his ears in modesty, not bothering to correct the mistaken Ent. Treebeard turned back to Gandalf.

"Running water has stopped stone like a master, but there's always earth to mange here, locked in his tower," he rumbled out, gustering with his leafy head to the Orthanc. Obito found it incredibly difficult to understand the tree-person, but his speech was undeniably cool.

Aragorn looked around from atop his brown horse with Pippin perched behind him.

"Show yourself," he murmured.

"Be careful!" warned Gandalf. "Even in defeat Saruman is dangerous,"

"Then let's just have his head and be done with it!" declared Gimli. Orochimaru snorted.

"That is no mean feat," he said, glaring at the top of the dark tower. "Believe me, I've tried,"

"It is good that you haven't succeeded," repremanded Gandalf, his eyes narrowing at the shinobi. "We need him alive. We need him to talk,"

Obito shuddered as a sickening grin crossed the White Snake's pale face. Minato-sensei promptly put a hand on the jōnin's shoulder.

"I know what you are thinking, but we are not going to do anything to Saruman,"

Orochimaru sighed in disappointment, but his attention was soon diverted to another subject.

"You have fought many wars and slain many men, Thèoden King; making peace after peace" said a deep voice, filled with such power that the air around them tingled. Instictively, Obito disrupted his chakra and fell into a defensive position. Looking up, the Uchiha saw a tall, old man with a white beard cluching a dark staff.

"Saruman," hissed Hoshi, who's lanky body was tensed.

"Can we not take consul as we one did, my old friend?" continued the white-robed man. "Can we not have peace between us?"

Obito gritted his teeth. Who did this monkey think he was, trying to slither out of his crimes by casting a genjutsu? The short-haired boy turned to the king, who seemed to be struggling. After some time, the man responded.

"We shall have peace," he started quietly, before looking up to Saruman. "We shall have peace, when you answer to the burning of the Westfold, and the children that lie dead there! We shall have peace when the lives you took are avenged!" Thèoden shouted, shooting a murdurous glare at the wizard. "When you hang from a gibbet, for the sport of your own crows! Then, we shall have peace," the king finished with a snarl. Obito had to restrain himself from bursting out in appluase, choosing instead to grin foolishly.

"Gibbets and crows," spat Saruman. "Doubter!"

"Hey Hoshi," Rin poked the tall boy on the shoulder. "What's a gibbet?" she whispered.

"It's like a cage where they hang the bodies of dead or dying criminals for the crows to pick at," he answered. "The practice is banned in Gondor, mostly because it is seen as barbaric,"

"Well, a gibbet seem too good for this person," said Rin, glaring at the Istari.

Saruman, fed up with Thèoden, had moved on to his former colleague.

"What do you want, Gandalf Greyhame?" he asked scornfully. "Let me guess, the key of Orthanc, or perhaps the keys of Barad-dûr itself? Along with the crowns of the seven kings and the rods of the five wizards!"

"Your treachery has already cost many lives," returned Gandalf. "Thousands more are now at risk, but you can save them, Saruman. You were deep in the enemy's consul,"

"So you have come here for information. I have some for you," he said, pulling a strange, black ball that seemed to be lit from within by a orange-yellow light.

"That's where it was!" cried Orochimaru, looking quite amused despite his irritated tone. The old wizard's head turned to face the shinobi.

"You have used the palantír, Forked Tongue?" he asked, a look of curiosity on his face.

"I would like to use it when you are finished with it, thank you very much," The Snake Sannin responded politely.

Saruman laughed. "Whatever could you use it for, Forked Tongue?" he questioned, the curiosity still there. "Surely you do not need it to see what is happening to this world?"

Orochimaru chuckled, chilling Obito's bones. "No, I already have a little seer," he said, putting a pale hand on Hoshi's shoulder. "As for why I need it, why should I tell you?"

Hoshi's eyes were wide, and he appeared to be rather troubled. Saruman simply smirked at the serpentine shinobi in before turning his attention and wrath back to Gandalf.

"Something festers in the heart of Middle Earth," he declared, staring into the stone. "Something that you have failed to see. The Great Eye has seen it. Even now he presses his advantage," the wizard returned the palantír to his sleeve. "His attack will come soon, and you're all going to die,"

Obito rolled his eyes, and he saw Kakashi do the same. Both Rin and Hoshi gave an amused snort. Minato-sensei chuckled, shaking his head in mock disapproval.

"They always say that," he murmured, his blue eyes fixed on the Istari.

Their companions didn't look so amused. Gandalf has urged Shadowfax forward from the group, the wizard's gaze still locked on his former friend's face.

"But you know this, don't you Gandalf?" continued Saruman. "You cannot think this ranger will ever sit upon the throne of Gondor. This exile, crept from the shadows will never be crowned king!"

The Uchiha's eyes widened, and he turned to look at Aragorn in disbelief. Rin and Kakashi looked just as surprised as he did.

_"Holy Hokages, we might be involved in a coup d'etat," _he thought. Then another thought came to his mind. _"Holy sh!t, Hoshi is a PRINCE!"_

From the looks on his teammates faces, Obito was pretty sure that they were thinking the same thing.

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><p>Minato glaced over to his students, who seemed to be putting the pieces together. The jōnin sensei was not surprised, mostly because Hoshi had ended up telling him it in Lothlorien when he had approached his student to learn more about his world. The tall boy seemed to be unaware of the looks his teammates were slipping him, although his hands were balled up into fists at Saruman's words.<p>

"Gandalf does not hesitate to sacrifice those closest to him," declared the Traitor. "Those who he professes to love. Tell me, what words of comfort did you give the halfling before you sent him to his doom?"

Now Minato balled up his fists. Gandalf never intended for Frodo to die, and he would never willingly sacrifice anyone he held dear to achive a goal. Or that is what Minato believed, based off his interactions with the wizard and his knowledge of him. Poor Gandalf seemed to be hurt by his fellow's words.

"The path that you have set him on can only lead to death," finished Saruman quite smugly.

"I've heard enough!" cried Gimli, before addressing Legolas. "Shoot him, stick an arrow in his gob!"

The blonde archer slowly reached for an arrow, before he was cut off by Gandalf.

"No!" commanded the Istari, before turning to speak to Saruman. "Come down, and your life will be spared,"

"Save your pity and your mercy!" cried the Traitor. "I have no use for it!" The wizard lifted his staff and fired a ball of flame at Gandalf from its base.

"No!" cried Minato, preparing to jump forward when Hoshi grabbed his elbow and shook his head slightly. The Yellow Flash grit his teeth in anger as the fire hit Gandalf and Shadowfax and curled around them, burning so brightly that he, Aragorn, Kakashi and Hoshi shielded their eyes. But the flames disappeared from Gandalf and Shadowfax, revealing them to be unharmed by the fire.

"Wow," said Obito, his jaw dropped.

"Saruman," said Gandalf with cool composure. "Your staff is broken,"

After he said those words, the Traitor's staff did indeed break, causing a dispairing look to cross the old man's face. Minato's eyes narrowed when he noticed another form join Saruman's on the roof.

"Gríma!" yelled Kakashi in anger. The sallow, rat-like man jumped in fear when the Hatake called his name. Thèoden, however, wore a pitying look on his face.

"Gríma," called the king. "You need not follow him. You were not always what you are now. You were once a man of Rohan. Come down,"

The spineless worm seemed to be grateful for the act of mercy granted to him by Thèoden, but that did not make Minato like him any more.

"A man of Rohan," sneered Saruman "What is the house of Rohan, but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek, and the brats roll on the floor with the dogs! Victory at Helms Deep does not belong to you, Thèoden Horsemaster! You are a lesser son of greater sires!"

Minato cracked his knuckles, just restraining himself from beating that cunning old geezer to a bloody pulp. He hated it when anybody talked trash about his comrades, and Saruman was definately pushing the envolope.

"Gríma, come down," pleaded Thèoden. "Be free of him,"

"Free!" cried Saruman. "He will never be free!"

"No," muttered the slimy, former advisor to his master.

The Istari turned to Gríma and promptly back handed him, sending the little worm to the ground.

"Saruman, you were deep in the enemy's consul," repeated Gandalf. "Tell us what you know,"

_"A snake will bite the hand that smacks it," _said Hoshi, with a glazed look in his eyes. _"So Saruman's throat will be slit!"_

Minato's eyes widened, as did Orochimaru's. The Traitor was a valuable source of information, which they couldn't afford to lose.

"You withdraw your guard, and I will tell you where your doom will be decided," he said as Minato tensed, holding one of his _Hiraishin_ kunai, poised to throw. "I will not be held prisoner here!"

"Now," hissed Orochimaru as Gríma ran up behind the wizard. Without hesitation, the Yellow Flash threw his kunai.

* * *

><p>Aragorn had been observing the shinobi during the whole discussion with Saruman. They bristled at the insults, looking ready to pounce on the turncoat Istari. But just when Gandalf had convinced him to depart some of his valuable information to them, Minato and Orochimaru had teleported to attack Saruman.<p>

"Damn!" cried Hoshi from beside him. Before Aragorn could say anything to the boy, he teleported away as well. Confused, Aragorn turned to Kakashi.

"What is going on?" he asked.

The masked boy shrugged. "The spineless worm was going to stab Saruman and Minato-sensei and Orochimaru-sama were going to stop that," he answered.

"What about Hoshi?" asked Pippin, who was also confused.

"I think he might be trying to prevent Sensei and Orochimaru from saving Saruman," Kakashi said, realization creeping into his voice. Aragorn looked to the top of the Orthanc, which was now shrouded in smoke. Then a body, robed in white, tumbled out of the cloud, falling down alongside the tower walls until it was impaled on the spike of a wheel. It was Saruman, who was most definately dead.

"Why did you do that?" cried Minato from the base of the tower, where he was now standing. His question was directed toward Orochimaru, who was shamelessly reaching into the dead wizard's sleeve to retrieve the palantír.

"As much as I would like to take the blame for killing the old coot, I fear that you are going to have to ask that student of yours if you want any answers," he said shortly while making the signs that shinobi made before casting one of their techniques. "Besides, did you not promise backup to a certain Gondorian captian in Osgiliath?"

Minato's eyes widened. "How did you know of that?" he asked warily.

"Do you honestly think that Anko would not tell me that you went to a battle in which you used _A Thousand Years of Death_? Hoshi was kind enough to supply me with the name of the place, and anyone with half a brain knows that Osgiliath is in dire straits. I know you well enough that you would promise backup for the people there," said the pale man. "You have a bleeding heart, just like your sensei,"

Aragorn was watching the palantír like a hawk. The black marbled seeing stone was fading to a crystel color, and the ranger could see an image of a person within. Gandalf was also eyeing the palantír with caution when the person on the other side of the technique spoke.

_*"Why, Orochi, my friend! I am wounded by your cruel words!"*_

Because the image was speaking in the shinobi's language, Aragorn was pleased to conclude that Sauron was not spying on them at the moment. An annoyed look crossed the pale man's face when he looked into the sphere.

_*"Where is Sarutobi-sensei, Toad?"*_ he asked irritated.

Aragorn jumped slightly when he felt a tap on his arm. He turned to see Minato, holding a flask of orcs blood.

"Would you like a translation seal?" he asked. "I feel rather guilty for being able to understand everything you say, and you only being able to understand half of what we say,"

Aragorn frowned slightly, contemplating on the idea.

"You miss out on quite a bit!" said Legolas quite cheerfully. "Why, I just learned twenty new ways to curse someone when I received one of these!"

The ranger chuckled, but shook his head. "No thank you, my friend," he answered, his attention turning toward a certain strange shinobi.

"Gríma is dead," reported Hoshi flatly. "**Somebody** decided to feed him to his pet," finished to boy, glaring in Orochimaru's direction. The pale man looked up, his serpentine eyes blinking in surprise.

"It was difficult to tell whether he was a human or a rat," answered the shinobi with a shrug as the image within the palantír faded, and the seeing stone reverted back to it's marble-like self.

Gandalf gave a defeated sigh. "It seems that our business is done here," he said, while turning to the shinobi. "Before you make any decisions, I would like to hear of your plans. I would also like the palantír, Orochimaru,"

The black-haired shinobi seemed to be displeased with handing over the seeing stone.

"Give me a reason as to why I should do that, Gandalf-_jiisama_?" he hissed, white lips twisting into an amused smirk.

"The palantír is not a toy to be played with, Orochimaru-sama," Hoshi snapped as he snatched the marble like stone from the man's grasp. "Sauron is in possession of one, and has been using it to corrupt the minds of those who dare to look in them. Here, _Mithrandir_,"

The tall boy pressed the palantír into the wizard's hands in front of Pippin's face. The ranger did not miss the curious expression that passed over the young hobbit's face.

"Our plans will be discussed end route to Edoras," said Minato in a rather apologetic manner. "I do not wish to linger here, for the air is tainted by evil deeds. Besides, do we not wish to return to Meduseld before dark?"

A small smile appeared on Thèoden's tired face. "You speak for all of us, my friend," he said, turning to Gandalf. "Shall we take our leave, then, Gandalf Stormcrow?"

The Istari nodded. "Indeed we should. Let us go, then,"

As they moved out of Isengard's walls, Aragorn felt a chill crawl down his spine. The ranger turned his head slightly to see that Orochimaru's eyes were fixed on him, and the expression they held was not a benevolent one. He shuddered, deeply disturbed.

"Are you okay, Strider?" asked Pippin, who had obviously felt him shudder.

"I am fine, Pippin," Aragorn automatically answered. The ranger was having misgivings about the serpentine shinobi, but the man had done nothing to prove himself untrustworthy. "It was naught but a chilling wind,"


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:**

**Thank You GlidingOne, Immortalis Cruor Elf, DreamingIn2Eternity, and Purple Pallbearer for reviewing! Also thank you Targul for putting this on yur story alerts list.**

**Thank you for the well wishes! I hate being sick, but I am much better than before. Sorry for the wait, but real life wants me to work, and real life is the boss...**

**GlidingOne: Thank You! I am going to assume your second question was rhtorical.**

**Thank you all for your support! Now on with the show! **

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><p>Eldarion fought to stay awake as Minato-sensei and Orochimaru discussed strategy. The subject of their discussion was Osgiliath, and who they were going to send. The tall boy was sitting behind Obito on his foster brother's warg. Kuro was running alongside them, chatting with Obito.<p>

"So was Saruman sleazy or what?" exclaimed Kuro, raising a jet black eyebrow. Obito frowned slightly.

"I don't think I would use the word sleezy to describe him, Kuro," he responded.

Kakashi had taken Susano'o on as a passanger, and along with Rin and Anko, they were listening and adding suggestions to the two Senseis' plans.

The dark-haired shinobi was beginning to nod off when he heard his name being mentioned.

"Huh?" he uttered, looking around to find who was calling for him.

_*__"See?"*_ said Minato-sensei._ *"Hoshi is not in any condition to be fighting,"*_

Eldarion frowned. "You are sending me to Osgiliath," he stated, displeased.

_*"You know the area,"__* _pointed out Susano'o._ *"Besides, we will only be sending _kage bunshin_ for the time being,"*_

Minato-sensei sighed. _*__"I had a clone there. He was with Frodo and Sam until they went into some strange tunnel. Frodo told me to return to Faramir-taichō, but a surprise attack occurred soon after he had talked to Faramir-taichō in which it "died". He would really appreciate our help,"*_

The elf-like child was slightly befuddled in their refusal to speak in Westron, but he was still not keen on going to the abandoned city on the river.

"When are our clones leaving?" he asked reluctantly. Anko shot him a too-large grin before answering him.

"As soon as Orochimaru-sensei tells Gandalf _jii-sama_ our plan," she chirped. Eldarion surpressed a sigh as he saw the Snake Sannin return to the group of shinobi. Approaching them, he made a gesture with his pale hand.

"Susano'o, Hoshi, get going," he said shortly.

The tall genin made a _kage būnshin_ at the exact same time as Susano'o, and turned to it.

_"Listen,"_ he told the clone. _"I want you to stay with them until I dispell you, okay?"_

His copy gave him a confused look. _"Aren't I supposed to be the one who is going?"_ it whispered back to him.

Eldarion sighed and jumped off Obito's warg, waving off the _kage būnshin_. Stumbling slightly as he hit the ground, the lanky shinobi ran off to Susano'o. Both of them were at least a mile away from their companions when the bandaged shinobi summon his giant albatross. They jumped onto it's back and it took off. Settling down, the copper-skinned boy reached into his pack and pulled out a map and flask. Susano'o looked up at Eldarion, and raised an inky eyebrow.

"You left your clone behind," he said with a smirk. Eldarion felt his eye twich.

"Does it matter?" he asked testily. The alcoholic boy shrugged and took a swig from the flask.

"Do you know how to navigate from air?" he asked with a belch. Eldarion sighed. It was going to be a long flight.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was glad to return to Edoras. Thèoden allowed Anko, Obito, and him to keep their wargs, although they were having some trouble finding housing for the strangely friendly creatures. Kakashi tugged at the heavy woven flag around his neck that he had yet to return. Obito noticed it, and tapped Anko on the shoulder.<p>

"Hey Anko, can you take care of our wargs?" he asked the hyperactive kunoichi. She grinned and punched the Uchiha on the arm.

"Of course, Goggles!" she yelled. "You and Scarecrow can do whatever you need to do,"

Rubbing his arm, Obito turned to Kakashi. "Well then, let's return that standard,"

Kakashi smiled slightly beneith his mask as they walked up the many steps to the Golden Hall.

"Obito!" cried a female voice from the top of the steps. Both shinobi looked up to see Eowyn, who was smiling down at them. Obito grinned and ran up the stairs. With a shake of his head, Kakashi quickly followed his teammate.

"Hello, Eowyn. Did you like the book?" asked the Uchiha when he reached the top.

Eowyn nodded enthusiastcally. "Can all you women do those things?" she asked.

"I don't see why not," responded Obito. "As long as you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want to. Right, Kakashi?"

The silver-haired chūnin blinked in surprise, but nodded. Unwrapping the standard from his neck, he handed it to Eowyn.

"I believe this belongs to your house," said Kakashi. The White Lady gingerly took the dirty cloth, which was covered in sweat, dirt, and all sorts of blood.

"Thank you," she said, doing her best to hide a repulsed look. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Nobody said a word for several minutes, allowing the howling wind to fill the silence. The awkward tension was broken by the rest of the company arriving at the top of the stairs.

"Welcome home, Uncle," said Eowyn cheerfully to Thèoden, who seemed to be pleased by the welcome. The king seemed to want to say something but the sound of someone gasping. Kakashi had to bite back laughter as he saw Kuro crawl up the stairs on all fours, flopping down onto his back as soon as he reached the top. Susano'o rolled his eyes and poked Kuro's side with his toe.

"Get up, you Drama Queen," muttered the bandaged shinobi. _*__"You're embarressing us,"*_

"You run all the way from Isengard to here and have to climb a million stairs," he grumbled.

Orochimaru yanked the Uchiha off the ground by his collar and placed the exhausted boy on his feet.

"Stand up; you are not invalid," he whispered in Kuro's ear. The medic sighed heavily, but managed to don a large smile.

"This has a pretty sweet view," commented he commented, swaying slightly on his feet.

Thèoden smiled slightly at Kuro's words before turning to Eowyn.

"See that our guests are cared for. They've had a long day, and I am sure that they would like to make themselves presentable for tonight's feast,"

Obito's eyes widened with delight as he turned to Hoshi, who's grey eyes had lit up when he heard the king's words.

_*"Did you hear that?"* _whispered Obito to Hoshi. _*"We're invited to a party!"*_

_"Uchihas,"_ thought Kakashi, shaking his head as they went inside Meduseld.

* * *

><p>Minato was glad to clean up and change his clothes. He had decided to try on some of the local garb and ended up wearing a blue tunic with his military fatigues. He had received the tunic from Eomer, who seemed to have taken a shine to him on the ride to Isengard. The Yellow Flash stood at the back of the hall with Orochimaru, who was wearing a purple <em>happi <em>or shopkeeper's kimono with his own grey fatigues. The jōnin thought that the serpentine sannin looked rather out of place leaning against the carved wooden wall; their culture clashing with Rohan's.

"Looks like you are sampling the local culture, Sensei,"

Minato looked to his left to see Rin and Anko walk in. Rin was wearing a bright blue _yukata _with her shinobi sandels, which looked rather strange with the outfit.

Anko wore a _yukata _herself, which surprised the yellow-haired teacher.

"I thought you hated girly clothes, Anko-chan," came a voice from the other end of the hall. Kuro walked in wearing what had to be one of Hoshi's tunics, looking slightly uncomfortable in the clothing. Maturely, the violet-haired kunoichi stuck out her tongue at her teammate.

"I had nothing else that was appropriate," she grumbled. "You look horrible in their clothing,"

Kuro looked genuinely hurt by Anko's comment, but Rin came to his rescue.

"Don't be so mean, Anko-san!" she rebuked. "Kuro looks just fine,"

The Uchiha gave her a grateful smile, blushing slightly. "Thank you, Rin-san!" he murmured.

"I hope you aren't too uncomfortable, Kuro,"

Hoshi's apologetic voice floated across the gilded hall as he and the rest of the shinobi entered it. Both Kakashi and Susano'o were wearing steel grey _happi_, each embroidered with their signature animal. Hoshi was wearing a dark green shirt with a reddish-leather jerkin over the shirt, and Obito was wearing a dark blue _happi _that had the Uchiha's crest on the back.

Kuro blicked, his eyes closing as he smiled at his 'cousin'. "I am perfectly comfortable," he said. "So when is this feast going to start?"

Hoshi shrugged. "When everyone gets here, I guess," he said. The hall slowly fell into a silence that nobody dared to break until the sound of voices coming from a side hall broke the tension.

"We shouldn't be arriving so early," said Merry's voice. "We are going to be the only ones there,"

"Oh pish posh," said Pippin. "Somebody else is going to be there,"

The two hobbits entered the hall, looking up from their conversation to see the nine shinobi.

"See?" said Pippin smugly. "I told you we weren't going to be the only ones here,"

Minato smiled as the hobbits were introduced to Team Orochimaru, who clearly liked the tiny people. More and more people trickled in as the hall was set up for the feast. Soon, everything was set up and everybody was present. The shinobi had decided to sit at the back, and were joined by Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf and the two hobbits. Everyone was handed a stein filled with ale, even the genin and chūnin, much to Susano'o's delight. Minato could just make out Thèoden, who stood before his throne, and Eomer, who stood beside him. Eowyn presented the king with a chalice, and went off to the side when Thèoden took the cup. All the sitting people stood up, steins in hand.

"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country," declared Thèoden King, raising the chalice in a toast. "Hail the victorious dead!"

A thundering "Hail!" traveled through the Golden Hall, punctuated by everyone taking a sip of ale in unison. The drink was rather pleasent, but Minato had a pointed dislike of alcohol, so he abandoned the drink after that one sip. Judging by the looks on his students' faces, only Hoshi seemed to like the ale. And of course, Susano'o stole the steins of his peers, downing the drinks like they were water. Gimli was impressed.

"How much can you drink, laddie?" he asked Susano'o as he downed a third tankard. Slamming it down onto the table, the bandaged genin wiped his mouth and turned to the dwarf.

"We can have a drinking game after we eat," he said. "Then you will see how much liquor I can hold,"

Gimli laughed as food was brought out and people began to move around. "I look forward to that, Seagull!"

Orochimaru sighed and shook his head. _*"I am putting him in Rehabilitation as soon as we return home,"* _he muttered to his fellow jōnin_*"This has gone on for too long,"*_

The Snake Sannin grabbed a piece of meat and stood up. Legolas frowned slightly and asked:

"Where are you going?"

Orochimaru was about to answer the elf when he was cut off by his female student.

"Ooo, Sensei! Show them Kusanagi!" Anko piped up enthusiastically.

"Yeah, Sensei. C'mon, show us!" added Kuro.

Orochimaru sighed. "I would rather not," he reluctantly said, piquing Minato's curiosity. It sounded like the White Snake had gotten the legendary sword somehow, but it baffled the jōnin as to why he didn't want others to see it. Aragorn melted out of the crowd to slide between Hoshi and Legolas, seeming to have heard their conversation.

"What's the harm?" said Susano'o. "It's better that they see it know then on some later date,"

Convinced, Orochimaru stood up straight. "Just to let you know, I am not going to attack anyone," he warned. Minato and the others nodded, looking up at the Snake Sannin with interest. A small circle had developed around him, which included Eomer and Eowyn. Orochimaru lifted his head upwards, contracting the muscles in his neck and gagging. Out of his open mouth emerged the handle of a katana, much to everyone's shock. With a fluid gesture, the pale jōnin pulled the fabled blade from his throat. Minutes after it emerged from its owner's mouth, the sword began to twist and melt into the form of a snake. Curling around the Sannin's hand, Orochimaru fed it the scrap of meat.

"Kusangi, everyone. Everyone, Kusangi," he drawled.

Minato was pretty sure his jaw had just dropped. Orochimaru had found the perfect hiding place for his weapon; one that scared the life out of anyone who he attacked.

"Incredible!" cried Gandalf. "Is that normal for swords in your country?"

The pale jōnin seemed to be pleased by the White Wizard's interest in his snake-sword.

"No," he answered. "Kusangi is special. It can cut through anything and it can become as long as you wish it to be,"

Both Aragorn and Eomer expressed an interest in the legendary sword. Minato, however turned his attention to the other occupants of the table. Merry and Pippin had completely ignored the little show to focus on eating everything on the table, a task in which they had been so successful in that they had to move on to another table. Anko had found a friend in a Rohirric woman, and the two were exchanging off-color jokes. Legolas, Gimli and Susano'o had wandered off, presumably to have their drinking game. Rin and Obito had found Eowyn and the three were engaged in lively discussion. Only Kakashi, Kuro, and Hoshi remained at their table.

"I suppose that you have been to many of these feasts," said Minato to the dark-haired prince.

Hoshi shook his head. "No. I am too young for many such events. In fact, last year was the first time I was allowed to join the feasts. I have only attended a Rohirric feast once before,"

Kakashi looked mildly surprised. "Really? What did you do instead?"

Hoshi gave the Hatake a faint smile. "I merely had dinner with my sister and other people my age. Nothing too radical,"

Kuro, who had been nursing a stein for awhile, gently placed it onto the table. He began to tap out a beat against the wooden table, before standing up.

"I'm going to find Susano'o and make sure he doesn't drink himself to death," announced the Uchiha, before he stumbled off to find his friend. The crowd around Orochimaru had recently dispersed in favor of listening to Merry and Pippin sing and dance.

_"You can search far an wide,_

_you can drink the whole town dry._

_But you'll never find a beer so brown,_

_as the one we drink in our home town._

_You can drink your fancy ales,_

_you can drink em by the flagon. _

_But the only brew for the brave and true,_

_comes from the Green Dragon!"_

Minato applauded the two hobbits, who were quite the preformers. Orochimaru was clapping also, hiding a smile on his face.

"I am going to turn in. Parties are not my thing," said the Snake Sannin. Minato nodded, nearly tripping over himself in order to stand up.

"I will go, too" agreed the yellow-haired jōnin. He turned to his students. "Don't stay up to late," he cautioned. Kakashi nodded absent-mindedly, as did Hoshi, who just about waved them off.

"Goodnight Sensei," they chorused as Minato and Orochimaru walked out of the hall to their rooms.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity, and Purple Pallbearer for reviewing! Also thank you to Dareagon, FireheartNinja, Esmeraude,and foxxy nine-tails for putting this on your story alerts. Another thank you to Requiem D, foxxy nine-tails and lyra13x7 for favoriting. And the last thank you goes to GiggleHeMan, who put me on their favorite authors list. **

**As you can see, I have sealed my status as an infrequent updater; I really hope that doesn't bother you all too much. Thank you for your support, and leaving a review doesn't really hurt. (Once again I pressure you all into doing something that you don't need to do.)**

**On with the show!**

* * *

><p>Aragorn watched the two adult shinobi leave the feast. The foreigners did not seem to be entirely at ease in the festivities. In fact, Rin, Obito, Kakashi and Anko had already left to "hit the hay", as Anko had put it. Hoshi and Kuro had been convinced by the Rohirrim to sing a song from their home. Susano'o had joined them, and was playing a strange, wooden, stringed instrument in his bandaged hands. All the remaining revealers had turned all their attention to the boys, who were standing on a table. After a minute of listening to the instrument play, Kuro began to sing.<p>

_"Sora wa haruka, kumo wa nagarete._

_Tooku, tooku, tooku ni kogaretemo. _

_Doko wo mezashite, boku wa fumidasu no ka._

_Mayoi wo ima furikitte._

_Nigeba no nai unmei demo asu wo sagashite._

_Boku wo tsuyoku suru no wa nakama no kizuna,"_

Hoshi had joined in a couple times, adding an interesting depth to the rather boisterous song. Aragorn was surprised when the two boys stamped in sync with the instrument's rhythm on the table after pausing. Moments after they returned to the song, singing it in a creative duet.

_Mezamero! Yasei, _

_Afuredashita kanjou!_

_Mune ni himeta,_

_Gamushara na egao de. _

_Sakebigoe wa... Whoa whoa._

_Shinjitsu dake ni hibiku darou._

_Kokoro moyase! _

_Soshite te wo tsunagou._

_Yume ni kometa,_

_Eien no negai wo._

_Motomeru nara... Whoa whoa _

_Sagashiteru hikari wa kitto, soko ni arusa._

_Whoa Whoa,_

_Woo Woo._

_Mezamero! Yasei,"_

Hoshi and Kuro finished the song in unison, the music from the stringed instrument ending a minute before they finished the song. The Rohirrim seemed to like the song, nonsensically joining in despite the foreign lyrics. Both boys seemed to be slightly out of breath, clearly not used to singing.

"Translate it!" yelled one of the men. The rest of the room roared their agreement, much to the shinobi's discomfort. Hoshi held out his hands, asking for calm.

"I cannot guarantee a direct translation. Please accept any words that might not fit," he said when the room quieted down. Tapping his toe and humming, Hoshi soon fell into a rhythm that Aragorn found comfortably familiar. The strong tone of the song hand caught the ranger off-guard due to it's assertive and jarring nature.

_"The clouds drift across a distant sky,_

_far, far away, beyond the horizon._

_Where will I go from here? What do I want?_

_It's time to break through my fears and doubts._

_Even if I'm destined to be trapped and confined, I'll keep searching for a new start._

_Because the bonds of friendship keep me strong,"_

Hoshi paused to take a breath, keeping the rhythm by tapping his toe.

_"Awaken the beast within!_

_Let loose the feelings,_

_you keep in your heart._

_Smile like a fearless daredevil,_

_and shout out, whoa woho._

_And you'll hear the truth echoing back!_

_Set you heart aflame!_

_Take my hand in yours,_

_and look to your dreams._

_For that eternal wish._

_Your prayer will be granted,_

_Because the light you seek lies there,"_

"Are their songs not strange?" said Legolas.

Aragorn turned to the blonde elf, who had joined them when Hoshi had begun to translate the song. The ranger was surprised to see that Legolas looked rather drunk; never before had he seen a drunk elf.

"Sing another song!" roared Legolas, practically into the Dunadain's ear. Aragorn winced, rubbing his hurt ears. Hoshi and his friends looked stunned, turning to one another and sharing a few hushed words before Hoshi faced the crowd again.

"Would you like a translation first, then the song?" he asked.

The boy was answered by an overwhelmingly affirmitive roar, which Aragorn ended up lending his voice to.

"I guess that's a yes," he muttered. The tall boy inhaled deeply, tapping his toe to establish a rhythm before starting.

_"What was it that I truly lost that day? _

_I forgot a long time ago._

_In the twilight, the two of us started to become unnoticable, little by little_

_Nevertheless, we wouldn't return home._

_Somewhere is my seemingly broken and fragile heart, _

_Covered and hidden, covered and hidden by words under the pretence of being strong._

_You said that we can't meet anymore, so we'll move on, farewell. _

_Even if you aren't in this world, I will run, supassing someday's pain,"_

Hoshi's clear grey eyes bore into Aragorn's, simutaniously displaying a myriad of emotions and hiding them. It mystified the ranger as to why Hoshi was staring at him in such a manner, but he was unable to break the contact of their crystal-colored orbs. The tall boy seemed to be directing the song to him, which unsettled Aragorn. Moments after Hoshi finished the song's translation, Thèoden King's commanding voice broke through to the revealers.

"It is time for all of us to go to bed," he declared. "The feast is over,"

Groans of disappointment carried through the air, but nobody outright protested as the Hall began to clear out. Several of the Rohirrim had approached the three shinobi, making them promise to sing the actual song at a later date. The servants began to clean and re-arrange the Hall as it emptied. Legolas turned to Aragorn. The ranger noticed that the elf was wearing the cloak from Lothlorien.

"I will be outside," he said, rubbing his temples with a graceful hand. "The drinks have left my thoughts a mess, and the world seems to spin at the oddest times,"

Aragorn smiled slightly at his friend. "I hope you do not have to experience a hangover, my friend," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

The elf gave him a merry laugh, patting his friend on the shoulder before walking outside.

"Oi, Strider," Aragorn turned to that only he, Hoshi, Susano'o and Kuro were left in the hall. The Uchiha was giving him an amused look. "Are you going to bed, or what?"

The ranger chuckled, following the trio of peculiar children out of the hall to find a place to rest their heads.

* * *

><p>Minato could not sleep. No matter how hard he tried, despite the many different places he attempted to lay his head, sleep would not come to him. It had been hours since the end of the feast, but the silence prevented sleep from finding him more so than the noise. The Yellow Flash was currently in a hay loft, failing miserably in his intended quest for rest. The yellow-haired teacher was sitting on a bale of hay, trying to figure out why he was so uneasy.<p>

"So you feel it too,"

Minato jumped and whirled around with a kunai in hand, just about stabbing a familiar form.

"Orochimaru-sama, don't sneak up on me like that!" he hissed at the jōnin. The older man raised an inky eyebrow in mocking surprise.

"How is it that a jōnin of your calibur did not notice me?" he said. "Or is it that feeling that is destracting your thoughts?"

The yellow-haired shinobi lowered his kunai, relaxing his guard. "Something stirs here, and it is not of good intent. An air of malice is beginning to prevade the place, but I cannot find it's source,"

It was hard to make out the look on Orochimaru's white face, which was currently shrouded in shadow. But there was something in the Snake Sannin's stance that suggested fear.

"I thought it was simply my senses overreacting again," he said in a relieved tone, joining Minato on the bale. "But now that you have felt it too, I am beginning to fear for our safety,"

The younger jōnin blinked. "Fear for our safety? But the feeling is not much stronger that the average killer intent-"

Orochimaru swiftly raised a hand, cutting off his teammate's student.

"Explain why it is so pervasive then. We may be able to defeat the average man in combat here, but our enemies have allies that are just as terrible as a bijuu. You went up against one in Osgiliath; now imagine going up against all nine,"

Minato did not attempt to surpress the shudder that wracked through his body at the memory. The Sannin leveled him a _"see-what-I-mean"_ gaze before returning to the original topic.

"Despite it's pervasiveness, the source of malice is still weak. If we can find it, then we might be able to contain it," he concluded.

Minato nodded in agreement, standing up from his seat. "Well, lets go find that source!" he declared, jumping down from the loft into the stables.

* * *

><p>Legolas stood on the corner of Meduseld's stone terrace, looking over the sleeping city. The cool night air had cleared his thoughts of the drink that clouded them, much to the elf's relief. He had ended up beating Gimli in the drinking game, only because Susano'o had changed drinks halfway through the game and was disqualified as a result. He thought that the cloudy night would be peaceful, but something troubled him instead. Legolas heard someone approach him, their steps almost a quiet as an elf's. It was Aragorn, so the archer did not feel compelled to turn around as the ranger approached him.<p>

"The stars are veiled," he said quietly, hearing the keen of some dog. "Something stirs in the east; a sleepless malice,"

Indeed, the sky was cloudy and a feeling had been gnawing at him for awhile. He turned to his friend, who was standing at his left. Their gazes met briefly before Legolas turned his sharp gaze back to the sight before him.

"The Eye of the enemy is moving," he added.

"So you feel it as well!" breathed a silky voice. Legolas yelped in surprise, nearly falling off the edge of the terrace as he grasped for weapons that were not there. Aragorn had jumped as well, holding his pipe out before him as if it were a sword. Orochimaru stood before them with Minato, both shinobi trying to disguse their amusement. Legolas looked the two up and down. Neither men were wearing shirts or shoes, but both had donned a sort of robe and were wearing their regular pants.

"Can you refrain from doing that in the future?" asked Aragorn, clearly irritated by the shinobi's lack of maturity.

"As soon as you stop slowly killing yourself," returned the serpentine man, who gestured to the pipe. The poor ranger stared at the wooden object, utterly confused as to how it was killing him.

"We couldn't sleep because we could feel malicious chakra virtually everywhere, but we couldn't find the source," said Minato, looking rather repentant for scaring the two. "Do you have any-"

The shinobi froze, stopping in mid-sentance. Orochimaru's amber eyes widened in horror, but the rest of his face was perfectly emotionless. All of a sudden, Legolas was hit by a wave of utter darkness and power, bringing him to a realization.

"He is here," said the archer in quiet horror.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was tempted to elbow the snoring Obito, but that would only wake him up. Kuro, Susano'o and Rin were also asleep; between the four of them, it was surprising that the dead hadn't awakened due to the din they made. But the snoring wasn't the only thing keeping him awake.<p>

"Am I the only one who cannot sleep?" said Anko, sitting up from the futon she was sharing with Rin.

"You are not alone, Anko," came Hoshi's tired voice from a pile of blankets. "I believe that Kakashi is awake as well,"

Not being able to hide from the inevitable conversation, Kakashi pulled himself up, leaning against the stone wall in the smaller room.

"All in favor of tossing the snorers out say "aye"," he grumbled half in jest.

Anko smothered a laugh, raising her hand in agreement. "Aye," she giggled.

Hoshi simply rolled his eyes, standing up and gathering up all his blankets. "You do know we can find another room," he said good-naturedly.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and stood up as well. "I guess it doesn't matter where we sleep, so long as we sleep," he said.

Anko also joined them with a grin. "Then what are we waiting for? Lets go find a quiet place to sleep!"

The tall foreigner grinned, shaking his head as he lead them out into the hallway. Noiselessly, the three shinobi padded down the stone halls, with Hoshi's dim aura providing enough light when there were no windows. But Kakashi progressively began to feel more uneasy as they navigated through Meduseld's dark hallways. Hoshi abruptly stopped as they walked past a door.

"Do you feel that?" he whispered, his face drained of color.

Anko nodded. "It's coming from behind that door," she hissed, pointing to the door they walked past. Without hesitating, Kakashi walked over to the door, kunai in hand. Both Anko and Hoshi went on the other side of the slab of carved wood, _senbon _ready. Grasping the iron handle, the masked chūnin slowly opened the door. Not seeing any threats, he gestured for his teammate and the kunoichi to follow him into the room. It was large, and filled with sleeping people.

"The feeling is strong in here," murmured Hoshi, who was cluching the numerous blankets like his life depended on them.

"Whot you doing?" whispered a groggy voice. The three shinobi froze, then dove behind a large trunk when they realized that it wasn't directed to them. It was Merry who spoke, and he was addressing Pippin, who was walking over to a sleeping Gandalf. The dark-haired hobbit had jumped in surprise, but he then turned back to his objective, jumping again in surprise.

Hoshi snickered. "Gandalf sleeps with his eyes open," he explained quietly.

"Pippin," hissed Merry, who was still trying to get his friend's attention. The other halfling ignored him, waving his hand in front of Gandalf's face to see if he did anything; causing Anko to stuff a fist in her mouth to try an surpress her laughter. When the old man didn't flinch, Pippin picked up a pot, placing it into the wizard's arm as he removed a cloth-covered sphere.

"Pippin," said Merry, worried. The light-haired hobbit was sitting up now, a concerned look evident on his face. "Are you mad?"

"I just want to look at it," whispered the younger hobbit as he walked over to Merry's futon. He placed the object on the ground and unwrapped it.

"Put it back!" hissed Merry. Kakashi was becoming more and more anxious as Pippin lay his hands on the object, which began to light up. The oppresive feeling in the air intensified, causing Hoshi's eyes to widen with realization.

"The Palantír!" he hissed in horror as the sphere slowly turned into a virtual fireball.

"No!" whisper Merry as Pippin's face contorted with pain. The charka in the air turned painful, causing the three shinobi to wince. The hobbit was beginning to shake, still cluching the palantír. Horrible noises began to issue from it, causing Hoshi to cover his ears with his hands, as well as placing his head between his knees. Anko and Kakashi watched in shock, ignoring their odd friend.

"What is going on?" asked the oddly subdued kunoichi. But before the silver-haired boy could try to answer her question, he was cut off by a terrifying voice which caused him to freeze.

_**"I see you,"**_ growled a deep voice, which must have belonged to a monster. Moments after the words were said, Pippin dropped to the ground; he writhed around as if he were having a sezuire. Unable to stand by passively any longer, Kakashi ran over to Pippin and grabbed the palantír. Pain exploded through his body. The Hatake dropped to the ground, unable to release the strange object. He didn't care if he was screaming. Kakashi was unable to think because the pain was so great. Suddenly, the palantír was wrenched from his hands and the pain left him. The masked chūnin had to blink several times in order to regain his vision. Minato-sensei stood above him, a concerned and panicked look in his blue eyes.

"You are alright, Kakashi?" he asked. The silver-haired boy nodded, pulling himself into an upright position. Hoshi was holding on the the palantír, which was wrapped in one of his blankets. His tall teammate gave him a weak smile before turning back to Pippin, who seemed to be unconscience. Gandalf hovered over the hobbit, putting a hand against his cheek. Pippin awoke, gasping slightly.

"Look at me," commanded the White Wizard.

"Gandalf," said Pippin weakly. "Forgive me,"

"Look at me," repeated the old man when the hobbit looked away. "What did you see?"

The young halfling closed his eyes, clearly distressed. "A tree," he whispered. "There was a white tree, in a courtyard of stone. It was dead; the city was burning,"

"Minas Tirith," said Gandalf. "Is that all you saw?"

"I saw," choked Pippin, sobbing . "I saw him! I could hear his voice in my head,"

Gandalf's eyes widened. "What did you tell him?" he queried. When the hobbit continued sob, the wizard shook him. "Speak!"

"He asked me my name; I didn't answer. He hurt me," whispered the hobbit.

Gandalf still had a wary look in his eye. "What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?"

"Nothing," whispered Pippin.

Gandalf released a relieved sigh, and the tense atmosphere lifted slightly. Anko cleared her throat, drawing the attention to her.

"Who the hell was that?" she asked.

* * *

><p><strong><span>AN<span>: **

**The songs used are Naruto Shippuden ending 4 and Naruto Opening 7.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:**

**Thank you Immortalis Cruor Elf and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing. Also thank you to not the usual baka andUH061992 for putting this on their story alerts.**

**Thank you all for reading, (the reviews help a lot) and I hope that you like this chapter.**

**Now on to the show!**

_«Summon speech»_

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><p>Obito woke up in the morning feeling as if he had missed out on something. Streaching, the Uchiha stood up from the futon, not attempting to stifle a yawn.<p>

"Please cover your mouth when you yawn, because they-*yawn*-are contagious,"

Obito looked to his left to see Kuro brushing his hair, a tired look upon his face.

"Everyone else is up," continued his cousin as he gathered his hair into a ponytail. "You should get dressed, everyone is waiting for us,"

The short-haired boy nodded from his cloths scroll, where he pulled out another outfit. Quickly putting on his outfit and grabbing his goggles, the two Uchiha set out to the main hall of Meduseld.

"Did you have a good sleep?" he asked Kuro.

His cousin chewed on his lip. "I had a disturbing dream. I was standing in front of a huge black wall while a giant firey snake's eye looked down at me. It tried to speak to me, but it sounded like crumbling stone. Then I heard a shriek that chilled my blood, before the eye left me. Then I was at a tea party with Kyubii, Madara, Gimli wearing a dress, and we were all eating Anko's dangos. She found out and killed me," he ended with a shudder.

"So which part of the dream was scarier?" asked Obito.

"Definately the one with Anko in it," answered Kuro.

As they walked down the hallway, the two cousins could hear the sounds of argument coming from the hall. It slowly got louder as the approached, but neither boy could tell who was arguing until they entered the hall themselves.

Kakashi had Susano'o in a headlock, and Kakashi himself was in a headlock, curtesy of Mitarashi Anko. Minato-sensei was attempting to free his student, as was Orochimaru. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Thèoden, Merry and Pippin were watching the scene with fascination. Obito walked over to Rin, who was sitting at one of the tables. Hoshi was nowhere in sight.

"What's going on, Rin?" he asked quietly, sitting down on the bench next to her.

The medic sighed. "Last night, Pippin took a glance into the palantír when he shouldn't have. He is fine, but Sauron believes that he has the ring. We also learned of his next move, which is to attack Minas Tirith,"

"Hoshi's home," murmured Obito, his dark eyes scanning the room for his foster brother.

Rin nodded. "Gandalf and Pippin are going to go to Minas Tirith, and they wanted to take Hoshi with them. But Hoshi had just disappeared a few minutes ago,"

She paused to clap for Susano'o, who just had his head freed from Kakashi's grasp, before returning to the story.

"It turns out that the Hoshi with us is a clone, and the real one is in Osgiliath. Susano'o just received a report that Hoshi is suffering another delusion, and they need some soda. It turned out that Kakashi had some soda, but Susano'o had mistaken it for sake and drank it," Rin said with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"So then why did Anko put Kakashi in a headlock?" asked Obito as his masked teammate was released from the cluches of the hyperactive kunoichi.

"She wanted him to let go of Susano'o and not choak him to death," she answered as the two boys shot venomous glares at one another.

Gandalf cleared his throat, directing the attention back to him.

"Although the situation is not as dire as I believed, I would still like for one of the shinobi to accompany me and Pippin to the White City,"

Minato-sensei nodded in agreement. "I would suggest sending either Kuro or Rin, because having a medic on hand is always a good idea. And from the current situation, it seems that Hoshi is in need of a medic,"

The Istari looked over Kuro and Rin with an approving eye. "Indeed," he murmured.

The two medics turned to one another, briefly making eye contact before Rin stood up.

"I would like to accompany you, Gandalf-_jiisama_," she said, hiding a hint of anticipation in her voice that was brightly displayed in her lively eyes.

"Excellent," declared the White Wizard. "Gather your things and go to the stables, we will leave shortly,"

Rin nodded, bowing slightly to Thèoden and thanking the king for his hospitality before leaving the hall. Both Gandalf and Pippin left the hall after Rin left, heading to the stables. Immediately after, Thèoden exited the hall, leaving Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas in the room with the fragments of the two teams, who were sitting at a table. Obito slurped up a lukewarm ramen cup, trying not to gag on the taste.

"Is there any other way to treat Hoshi's affliction than the drink?" asked Aragorn as he slid onto the bench next to Obito.

Susano'o nodded. "It helps to knock him out, which is what my clone did. It's only asking for the soda just in case it doesn't work,"

Legolas frowned slightly as he leaned against a carved pillar. "What sets off his fits?" asked the archer with an intrigued look on his fair face.

Susano'o turned to Minato-sensei, who closed his eyes in concentration.

"It is either set off by chakra exhaustion accompanied by moderate injuries or by someone dying horribly in front of him," explained the jōnin.

Aragorn nodded in understanding, but he still wore a concerned look on his face.

"Will the lad be alright?" asked Gimli, his gruff voice laced in worry.

A toothy grin crossed Obito's face as he slurped up some slimy noodles. "He has recovered from worse fits than this one. Hoshi is a lot stronger than anyone gives him credit for. He is probably up and kicking ass as we speak!"

* * *

><p>Eldarion stared blankly up at the nonexistant ceiling in a decidedly foul mood. He had just recently come to after a long and restless slumber, only to discover that he was tied to a stone platform. The tall boy winced, realizing that he had taken leave of his senses once more.<p>

"I hate Osgiliath," he muttered, squeezing his grey eyes shut. The abandoned city was full of bad memories, which had resurfaced with a vengeance not that long ago. Eldarion planned on returning to his fitful sleep when the sound of approaching footsteps reached his ears. The footfalls were so quiet that he had to strain his ears to hear them, but the elf-like prince could guess who was approaching.

"Oh good, you are awake," said Susano'o with a hint of wariness in his cheerful voice. "How was you nap?"

Eldarion shot his comrade a withering look as the bandaged boy released him from his bonds. Sitting up, the lanky boy streached his cramped muscles.

Susano'o ignored his glare as he sat up on the platform next to the pale genin.

"Do you know how to do the Summoning Technique?" he asked, removing a scroll from his robe.

Eldarion nodded, somewhat confused. "Yes, Why?"

"Good," said the copper-skinned shinobi. "Because you are going to find your summon and make a contract with them,"

Eldarion struggled to keep his face from displaying the incredulity he felt.

"Right now?" he asked, disbelief dripping into his voice.

"Why not?" asked Susano'o, deaf to his comrade's tone. "You have the chakra levels for it, do you not?"

The lanky boy sighed. _"I guess it won't hurt,"_ he thought as he bit his thumb, molding his chakra carefully as he weaved the signs as deliberately as he could. Suddenly, he slammed his hand down on the stone in front of him. _"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

In a puff of smoke, a noble falcon stood before him, holding an ornate scroll in its beak.

"Lucky elf," grumbled Susano'o in awe. "That's a peregrin falcon, the fastest summon around,"

Eldarion glared at the bandaged shinobi. "I'm not an elf," he snapped, gently removing the scroll from the patient falcon's beak and unfurling it.

"What name should I sign in, my Konoha name, or my birth name?" he wondered aloud.

_«"Both, please. Sign your Konoha name in blood and your birth name in ink,"__»_ said the raptor.

The dark-haired boy was surprised and amused by the falcon's voice. Doing as he was directed to, Eldarion signed his Konoha name with his bleeding thumb. When he finished that name, Susano'o handed him a quill to write his birth name with. Dipping it into a pot of ink, the tall prince scrawled his name in what little space was left. The falcon hopped over to his side to peer at what he had written.

_«"Eldarion Telcontar, eh? Scion of the Elves Strider? What a strange name you have. I like your Konoha name much better, Uchiha Hoshi, so I will call you that,"»_

Eldarion's eye twiched slightly. He liked his name quite a bit and did not appreciate the falcon's mocking. "What is your name, then?" he asked, curiously.

The bird puffed up its sandy speckled chest. _«"I am Temujin, messenger to Kublai, the king of the falcons,»"_

The lanky boy nodded as he rolled up the scroll and presented it to Temujin. The falcon took it and disappeared with a puff of smoke. No sooner did the summon leave did an achingly familiar face present himself in the crumbling doorframe.

"I hope you are feeling well, Hoshi," said Faramir as he cautiously entered the room.

Eldarion nodded, giving the future Steward a sheepish smile. "I hope that I did not bother you too much when I was out of it," he said quietly, rubbing his pointed ears in embarressment.

Boromir's younger brother gave him a gentle smile. "You have made me quite curious about your origin, but other than that, you were no bother,"

Susano'o had pulled out a flask of sake and took a swig of the rice alcohol. "How fare things?" he asked, wiping his mouth.

The man's smile faltered somewhat, but it stayed on his face. "The enemy has not been able to advance, but we have not been able to push them back," he said.

Eldarion folded his arms, idly noticing a new mark on his red guantlets. "I would expect us to be able to hold the defenses for three more days before they break through. We should plan for a retreat; that way we can minimize our losses while maximizing theirs,"

"A retreat?" Faramir's brow furrowed in disbelief.

"Good idea, Hoshi, it's really like you to think of running away as the solution!" exclaimed Susano'o, patting his comrade on the shoulder.

The genin venomously glared at Susano'o. "Name a better plan than organizing a retreat that allows us to preserve the lives of the men while killing as many orcs as we can,"

Susano'o shut up, looking sullenly at his flask. Faramir seemed to be considering the idea.

"Come to the meeting of captains tomorrow, Hoshi. We might be able to carry out your plan,"

Eldarion nodded eagerly. "Thank you, Captain Faramir!" he said enthusiastically.

The man smiled at him, dipping him into his direction. "I will expect to see you tomorrow then," he said before exiting the room. The pale prince blinked in surprise. He had been so wrapped up in the conversation that he did not notice the rapidly failing light. He climbed up the wall to a higher tower to get a good look at the evening sky as the sun sank below the horizon. In the distance, he could see his home gleaming in the last bits of the day's light.

_"A white city, with a white tree,_

_There you stand, tall and proud._

_You have waited patiently;_

_defying Sauron, unbowed._

_Until the day, _

_That long awaited day_

_Your King returns to thee."_


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:**

**Thank you Purple Pallbearer, GlidingOne and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing!**

**I would like to warn you all that there will be not updates for the next two weeks because I will be going away and I have too much work to do. Thank you all for reading and have a happy Easter!**

**Now on with the show!**

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><p>Minato wandered around Edoras, attempting to relieve his boredom. He had spent the entirety of yesterday sparring with Orochimaru far outside the city. Despite the sore muscles from the previous day's exercise, the jōnin had found that day to be very productive. The yellow-haired teacher sighed. Everyone had found something to do but him. The genin and Kakashi had devised a game which involved hide-and-seek, tag, and riddle-solving. Surprisingly, Legolas had joined in, along with several Rohirric children. Orochimaru had started to compile a brief summary on the people and culture of Rohan, and he was heavily assisted by Eowyn. Minato was jolted out of his thoughts when a small body slammed into him. The jōnin looked down in surprise.<p>

"Merri, I didn't know that you had joined the game," he said with a grin. The hobbit nodded, quickly looking over his shoulder.

"As much as I would like to stay and talk, I should get to the safe zone as soon a possible before someone tags me. Wish me luck!"

Minato laughed. "Then good luck in achieving your goal, Merri!" he said as the hobbit ran off to whatever the safe zone happened to be. He had a strong suspision that it was the stables. Whistling a difficult tune, the jōnin aimlessly strolled through the dirt streets. He didn't notice that his feet had carried him to the presense of a certain ranger until the smell of sweet smoke wafted up into his nostrils.

"A fine day is it not?" remarked Aragorn, removing his pipe from his mouth. The tall man was sitting on a stool just outside of what appeared to be a storage building. He was holding a book in his hands; one of Hoshi's translated copies.

"I would say so," Minato said quietly. "Which book are you reading?"

The man held up the cover of the book before realizing that Minato couldn't read the title. "An Encyclopedia of Bloodline Limits," he said, with a hint of sheepishness in his voice. "It is quite fascinating,"

The shinobi chuckled slightly, sitting down on a stool next to Aragorn. "Is there a perticular Kekkei Genkai that you find most interesting?" he asked.

The man placed the wooden pipe back into his mouth, his grey eyes fixed on the mountains in the distance. Removing the pipe and blowing a perfect ring of smoke, Aragorn turned back to Minato.

"I would have to say Wood Release intriuges me the most. The man who possessed it, Hashirama Senju, is someone that I would very much like to meet,"

Minato nodded. "It's a shame that he died before his time. He was our first Hokage, and one of the best shinobi the world has ever seen," he said wistfully.

Aragorn looked surprised. "He is dead?" he asked, sitting up straighter.

Minato nodded. "He died in one of the many wars occurring around the time of Konoha's foundation,"

"Talking about Old Shodai, are we not?"

Both men turned to see Orochimaru, who was standing in front of them, holding a pad of paper and a ballpoint pen. Minato nodded.

"Are you done with your book?" he asked.

The serpentine man laughed. "Not even close. I have too many cultures to cover, but I think you can help me with my endeavor, Dunedain," he said, turning to Aragorn.

The ranger looked wary, and the yellow-haired jōnin couldn't say he blamed the man. Orochimaru was ruthless in his quest for knowledge, often using the information he learned against those he learned it from. He had heard a disturbing rumor that the Sannin had killed someone who was guarding a rare scroll just so he could read it.

"Why the interest in my people?" he asked in a guarded tone.

Orochimaru seemed to be genuinely offended by Aragorn's distrust. "Look, heir of Isildur," he snapped. "You have been given the opportunity to learn about our people and our ways through Hoshi's books. We don't have such a luxury. When one finds a new culture and people, does not one desire to learn why they are such a way? I know nothing about your people and I simply want to learn about them,"

Minato himself was intrigued by the proposition of learning about Aragorn's people, and by extension, Aragorn himself. The man sighed, resigning himself to the role of a reluctant teacher.

"Where would you like me to start?"

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Merry had been invited by Obito to join the shinobi's game during second breakfast. The hobbit was wary of the proposal, remembering various other shinobi games. But since several of the local children had joined in, he accepted the offer. The blue-clad boy looked like Pippin with a pint of good ale.

"Excellent! Go to the stables as soon as you are finished," he said cheerfully, patting the halfling's shoulder before leaving the room. Stuffing a slab of bread into his mouth, Merry hurried off to the stables. When he arrived, he was surprised to see roughly 15 children and Legolas crowded in front of a large, empty stall, that was currently occupied by the five shinobi.

"Quiet! The objective of this game is to hide and when you are found get to safety. A round is over when 17 of you get into the safe zone. Now listen up you maggots 'cause here's the rules!" cried Anko just as he entered the stable. "Rule #1: Only hide where others can get you. So don't hide inside houses. Rule#2: As long as you were touched by the tagger, you are now the tagger. Rule#3: The only safe place is here in the stables. In order to get into the stables, you have to answer a riddle correctly. If you don't answer correctly, you can try again. If you answer three in a row incorrectly, you have to run a lap around the city. Any questions? No? Good! The taggers are going to be Obito, Kuro, and myself. Kakashi is going to be the door warden for the first half and Legolas is going to switch with him for the second half. I am going to count down from ten, and if you maggots aren't out of here by then, than you are it. Ten, nine, eight..."

Merry promptly ran out of the stables, searching for a place to hide. Finding a good pair of shrubs, the hobbit crouched down under them, wishing that he had his cloak from the elves. It didn't take long for one of the shinobi to spot him. Fleeing the unfortunate shrub as Anko pounced on it, Merry ran as if the Uruk-hai were after him. Trying to navigate through the streets, the fair-haired hobbit slammed into a pair of legs. Panicking, he looked up to see Minato's sunny face.

"Merri, I didn't know that you had joined the game," the shinobi said with a grin. He nodded, quickly looking over his shoulder.

"As much as I would like to stay and talk, I should get to the safe zone as soon a possible before someone tags me. Wish me luck!" he said rapidly taking off in what had to be the correct direction.

The yellow-haired man laughed. "Then good luck in achieving your goal, Merri!" yelled the sunny shinobi as the Bradybuck turned the corner to see Kakashi leaning against the doorframe of the stables with a bored look on his masked face. Allowing a relieved smile to cross his face, Merry sprinted over to the entrance, stopping right in front of the silver-haired boy.

Kakashi's dark eyes wide inperceptibly in surprise, but he gave the hobbit his riddle.

"A farmer was going to town with a fox, a goose and a sack of corn. When he came to a stream, he had to cross in a tiny boat, and could only take across one thing at a time. However, if he left the fox alone with the goose, the fox would eat the goose, and if he left the goose alone with the corn, the goose would eat the corn. How does he get them all safely over the stream?"

Merry blinked, his jaw dropping in shock. Sqeezing the bridge of his nose, he thought it out.

"The farmer could bring the goose across first because the fox wouldn't eat the grain. But if he brings either fox or grain across and leaves it behind with the goose, there would be trouble. He would have to take the goose back...Wait, that's it!"

Turning back to Kakashi he gave his answer. "He takes the goose across first, then comes back. Then he takes the fox across and brings the goose back. Then he takes the corn over. Finally he comes back alone and takes the goose across,"

Kakashi's eyes got wider with each sentance, probably because he was so impressed with Merry's intelligance (at least that is what he figured). The shinobi opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced when Merry was pushed into him by Anko's enthusiastic tag.

"You're it!" she crowed, darting away from the dazed hobbit and guard. Horrified, the fair-haired halfling gave Kakashi a pleading look.

"Sorry, Merri-san," said the boy apologectically. "But you are it,"

Fuming, the Bradybuck stomped off to find someone to tag, nearly tripping over Legolas because he was so blinded by his frustration. Legolas was hiding in a woodpile with his ear pressed up against the wall of a house. When the elf did not respond to a hobbit tripping over his legs, Merry could not believe his good fortune. Tagging the blonde archer on his shoulder, the halfling ran as fast as he could back to the stables. Hazarding a look over his shoulders, Merry gave a yelp as Legolas sprinted after him, rapidly closing the gap. Gasping, he ran back up to Kakashi, who immediately gave him a new riddle.

"You are on a horse. You go north three leagues, east twelve, south twenty, east thirty, north two, west five, north fifty, and east one until you arrive at a tavern. What is the name of the rider?"

"Meridoc Bradybuck!" he yelled, diving into the stable just as Legolas caught up with him. Kakashi laughed, nodding his head yes as the frustrated elf had to stand in the doorway. Two others joined him, both children from the city.

"Alright maggots, that makes 17! Who's up for another round?" cried Anko.

A rousing affermative cry filled the stable, Merry's own voice joining it. They played for hours, with more and more people joining in with each round. As the sun went down and the game ended, Merry returned to the Golden Hall feeling more light-hearted than he had in ages.

"I wish you could've been here Pip," he thought. " Sam and Frodo, too. You all would have loved it,"

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Rin was unsure how long they had ridden. Gandalf had said that it took roughly three days as a Nazgûl flies. The young medic had no idea what a Nazgûl was, only that it could fly and that Gandalf didn't want it to follow them. She managed to stifle a yawn, blinking at the rays of the raising sun which had awakened her quite rudely. If her squewed calculations were correct, then this was the sunrise of the third morning of their journey from Edoras.

"It's good to see you awake, Rin," said the Istari quite cheerfully. "You have a knack for sleeping on horses,"

The brunette laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "It is only because you tied me to you so I wouldn't fall off," she protested lightly. Gandalf chuckled at her remark.

"You are certainly an earlier raiser than a certain Peregrin Took," he said, good humor playing in his voice. Rin smiled. The Istari reminded her of Sandime-sama, in his power, wisdom and grandfatherly manner. After Pippin woke up from his slumber, the travelers took a break to give Shadowfax a rest and have breakfast. After taking care of their hunger and other of nature's callings, they set out again. The only noteworthy thing in the scenery came in the form of crossing a shallow river.

"We just passed into the realm of Gondor," declared Gandalf as they rode on.

_"I should ask Hoshi to put in signs there saying "Welcome to Gondor!" and "You are now leaving Gondor," when he returns home,"_ she thought with a tinge of sadness in her light-hearted thought.

In what had to be less than an hour from the river, Gandalf stopped Shadowfax atop the crest of a hill to look across a large, grassy field at the mountains across from it. Rin's eyes widened in awe when she saw the enormous stone city carved out of the mountainside.

"Minas Tirith, city of Kings," murmured Gandalf.

_*"Hoshi's home,"* _she whispered to herself as the white horse was spurred back into motion across the flat plains to the city's gate. Upon reaching the gate, the medic noticed that it had figures of men carved into the wood. It opened slowly, hinting it's weight and that it was operated by human hands only. Trotting through the white stone walls, Shadowfax soon broke into a run through the city's streets.

_"Stone, stone and more stone,"_ thought Rin as they moved through the never-ending white stone. _"No wonder Hoshi got bored playing in this city."_

Feeling slightly sick as they went around each circular tier of Minas Tirith, Rin closed her eyes and tried to remember what Hoshi had told her about the city.

_"Minas Tirith has seven levels, from the markets at very bottom to the Citadel at the very top. It is built into the mountain-side out of white stone. Each level is enclosed by a wall, and a gate facing the opposite direction from the gate of the level below it. All markets are at the lowest levels so goods can be easily transported. The most unsavory areas of the city are found in theses levels closest to the base of the mountain. The Citadel is where the King and Steward of Gondor live, with many other buildings such as barracks for the Guards of the Citadel, a great hall for feasting whose name I cannot recall, and the magnificent Tower of Ecthelion. Don't get me started on the secret passages!"_

She opened her eyes as the horse slowed down and stilled. They were standing in a courtyard with a circular lawn of green before them, devided into quarters. In its middle grew a bone-white tree with gnarled roots dipping into a clear pool. Four tall guards stood around the center, guarding the tree. Dismounting Shadowfax, Rin stuck close to Gandalf.

"It's the tree," whispered Pippin, his eyes widening in amazement. "Gandalf, Gandalf!" he cried running after the wizard.

"Yes, the White Tree of Gondor, the tree of the King," said the Istari, answering Rin's unasked question. "Lord Denethor, however, is not the King, he is a Steward, a caretaker of the throne,"

"What happened to the King?" asked Rin, feeling left out of the loop.

Gandalf gave her an apologetic smile. "It is rather complicated. As soon as we settle our bisuness here, then I will tell you just what happened to the Line of Kings," The White Wizard turned to Pippin now, his face serious. "Listen carefully, Lord Denethor is Boromir's father, to give him news of his beloved son's death is most unwise, and do not mention Frodo or the Ring," He made to move forward when another thought hit him. "And say nothing of Aragorn either," Pausing, Gandalf turned back to the poor hobbit. "In fact, it is better if you don't speak at all, Peregrin Took,"

Rin did her best to disguise her merriment at Gandalf's statements, but she wisely remained silent as they were allowed into the large hall. It was shaped like an arch, built with black and white marble and decorated with what seemed to be the statues of Gondor's previous kings. At the end of the hall was two thrones: one white, the other black. One was up a flight of stairs and empty; the other was directly on the floor and occupied. The petite brunette stayed close to Pippin, who in turn stayed close to Gandalf.

"Hail Denethor, son of Ecthelion, Lord and Steward of Gondor," greeted the Istari as they approached the occupied throne. Denethor did not look up to aknowledge his guests. The man seated there might have been noble once, but grief and dispair had taken over him. He was dressed in flowing black robes trimmed with white fur. In his hands he cluched a familiar looking horn. When the Steward did not respond, Gandalf decided to continue.

"I come with tidings in this dark hour, and with counsel,"

"Perhaps you come to explain this," whispered Denethor, slightly raising the broken horn. "Perhaps you've come to tell me why my son is dead,"

There were tears in the man's eyes, as well a grief in his voice. Guilt flashed across Pippin's face, and pain flickered in his eyes.

"Boromir died to save us," he said, sadness dripping off each word uttered. "My kinsmen and me. He fell defending us from many foes,"

"Pippin!" scolded the hobbit as he knelt down in front of the Steward, who wore a frozen look upon his face. Rin chewed her lip, unsure of how to navigate the now treacherous waters. She had felt badly for Boromir, but was confident that the noble and honorable man was in a better place. Keeping silent, the young medic continued to observe the scene.

"I offer you my service, such as it is, in payment of this debt," finished Pippin.

Gandalf released a frustrated sigh as Denethor regarded the young hobbit.

"This is my first command to you," said the Steward in a low tone. "How did you escape, and my son did not; mighty a man as he was?"

"The mightiest man may be slain by one arrow; Boromir was pierced by many," Pippin responded quietly. Denethor, satisfied with the explaination, sunk even further into grief. Rin frowned quietly, finding something off with the man, but she couldn't explain it.

"Get up," muttered Gandalf, gently wacking Pippin with his staff before addressing the Steward once more. "My Lord, there will be a time to greive for Boromir, but it is not now. War is coming. The enemy is now at your doorstep. As Steward you are in charge of the defense of Gondor's city; where are it's armies? You still have friends, you are not alone in this fight. Send word to Thèoden of Rohan and light the beacons,"

The Steward's face had increasingly contorted into an expression of loathing with each sentance the wizard uttered.

"You think you are wise, Mithrendir, yet for all your subtleties you have no wisdom. Do you think the eyes of the White Tower are blind? I have seen more than you know," growled Denethor. "With you left hand you would use as a shield against Mordor, and with your right you'd seek to surplant me. I know who rides with Thèoden of Rohan,"

Gandalf looked shocked, while Rin began wringing her hands in her apron.

"I'll have to ask Hoshi to be certain, but I have a hunch that this man has been using a palanír," she thought, chewing her lip.

"Ah, yes," continued the Steward smugly. "Word has reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and I tell you now, I will not bow to this ranger from the North!"

"Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the King, Steward," declared Gandalf, nearly spitting out the word 'steward' as if it were a curse.

Denethor stood up, furious. "The rule of Gondor is mine, and no others!" he snarled.

After a moment of shocked silence, The White Wizard turned heel and strode out of the room. Bowing slightly to the standing Steward, she followed Gandalf out the door. Their audiance with Lord Denethor was over.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:**

**Thank you Purple Pallbearer, DreamingIn2Eternity, Immortalis Cruor Elf and Ice Vixen X for the reviews! Also thank you mistyfoxmaid for putting this on your alerts. A final thanks goes to the favoriters, mistyfoxmaid, IceVixen and ScarletAvatre. If I missed anybody, my apologies. I am not receiving alerts of any kind from , so it is possible that I might have missed some one. I thank you all for waiting patiently for the update, and I hope the mediocre formatting is not to off putting (it's temporary)**

•~•~•~•~•

Rin has never seen Gandalf so irritated.

"All has turned to vain ambition," grumbled the wizard as they hurried out the door. "He would use his grief as a cloak! A thousand years this city has stood, now at the whim of a madman it would fall. The white tree, the tree of kings, will never bloom again," he murmured as they again passed the dead, bone-like plant.

"Why are they still guarding it?" asked Pippin, a look of curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

"They guard it because they have hope," answered the old wizard. "a faint, fading hope that one day the King will come, and the city will be as it once was, before it fell into decay,"

In the young medic's eye's, Minas Tirith was a grand city; and at first glace she could not see the decay Gandalf-_jiisama_ referred to. But the air of grieving dispair and the lack of garrison on the walls hinted at the White City's weakness. They walked along a narrow, tall part of the mountain that cut the city in two. Rin preferred not to look over the edge, as the height made her head spin.

"So Gondor must have been a strong country long ago," she concluded aloud.

"Indeed it was," agreed Gandalf. "But the old wisdom born out of the west was foresaken. Kings built tombs more splendid than the houses of the living and counted the old men of their descent dearer than the names of their sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls, abusing their heraldry, or in high, cold towers asking questions of the stars. And so the people of Gondor fell into ruin," The Istari walked over to the wall, looking out over the gloomy stone city. "The line of Kings failed, the White Tree withered. The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men," spat Gandalf.

Rin look up at the White wizard, trying to piece together why Gondor was in the state it was.

"So the good ideas that should have been followed were forgotten. The Kings didn't have faith in the next generation of rulers. The nobles did not rule properly, so the common people had to make do with the lot that had been cast to them," she stated with a question in her voice. When Gandalf gave her an affirmative nod, the petite brunette continued to another question. "What happened to the Kings?"

"Yes, I was wondering that myself," said Pippin with his usual good-cheer.

The Istari released a long sigh. "There was once another kingdom in the north, called Arnor. The Kings of Arnor were related to the Kings of Gondor, for both were from the House of Elendil, who had ruled both Kingdoms as one. Because of this relation, a king from Arnor could legitimately take the throne of Gondor. But that kingdom fell many years ago, due to the Witch King of Angmar, who serves Sauron. Around that time, Gondor's King and his heir were killed in battle, leaving no one to take the throne. The line of Kings in the north, however, had not disappeared completely, so the Stewards maintained their position and promised to return power to the King when he returns to the city,"

Rin's head was swimming as she tried to process what was clearly a summerized version of history, but the names kept throwing her off. Abandoning her many questions, the medic decided to focus on one.

"Is Aragorn from the Line of Northern Kings?" she asked hesitantly.

Gandalf nodded. "He is planning to claim his throne soon," added the Istari.

The brunette sighed and chewed her lip. This was turning out to be more convoluted than Hoshi had let on. She turned to Pippin, who had abandoned the explanation in favor of looking across the vast fields to a dark, ominous mountain range, which glowed red from volcanic eruptions.

"Mordor," whispered the hobbit fearfully.

"Yes, there it lies" said Gandalf. "This city has ever dwelt in the sight of its shadow,"

_"Literally,"_ thought Rin as a storm front crept towards them, thunder booming in the distance.

"A storm's coming," murmured Pippin, noticing the black, evil-looking clouds approaching the city.

"This is not the weather of the world," muttered the White wizard. "This is a device of Sauron's making, a volcanic fume he sends ahead of his host. The orcs of Mordor have no love of daylight, so he covers the face of the sun to ease their passage along the road to war. When the shadow of Mordor reaches this city, it will begin,"

Rin couldn't help wringing her hands nervously in her apron. If their enemy had the ability to completely alter the weather, imagine what else they had up their sleeve.

"Well, Minas Tirith" said Pippin, looking slightly ill. " Very impressive. So where are we off to next?"

The small brunette had to swallow her laughter at the hobbit's desperate attempt to leave the dangerous city.

"Oh, it's too late for that, Peregrin, " admonished Gandalf. "There's no leaving this city. Help must come to us,"

"Gandalf-_jiisama_, just how would we notify our allies that we need their help?" asked Rin, with a slightly bemused look on her face.

‡*‡*‡*‡*‡

The medic cursed as she lost a hand-hold on the sheer cliff face as she climbed up to where the beacon need to be lit. It was just her luck that her chosen profession had made her perfect in the task of covert beacon-lighting. Looking down, Rin could see both Pippin and Gandalf a ways away from where she was. The young hobbit waved cheerfully at her, probably delighted that he wasn't the one who had to light up the guarded stack of wood. Gritting her teeth, the kunoichi pulled herself up the cliff and onto the platform where the beacon innocently sat. Cautiously, she crept toward the wood, carefully peeking her head out from behind the pile to see two guards. When Rin saw that they weren't paying attention, she sighed in relief. The brunette climbed on top of the pile, nearly hitting her head on the giant, water-filled metal basin that hung over the dry wood. Grumbling a few choice words, the petite medic grabbed a lamp that hung near the basin and threw it upon the square pile of wood. The dry timber quickly ignited, much to Rin's delight.

_*"That should do the trick,"*_ she said cheerfully, hopping off the burning stack of wood and running down the grey cliff face to meet up with Gandalf-_jiisama_ and Pippin below.

**~•~•~•~•~**

Eldarion ducked and wove through the crowded defenses of Osgiliath after Faramir. The sun was high in the sky, and it was just after what might pass as lunch. Susano'o's clone followed him, chewing on a salted fish.

"So what are we gonna do at this meeting, Faramir-_taichō_?" asked the copper-skinned shinobi between bites of fish.

"Your friend has suggested a rather unorthadox plan for the City's defense," answered the man, not looking back. "So I would like to discuss it with my men before we do anything,"

The tall boy frowned at the captian's back as they entered one of the few standing houses left in the city. His plan was by no means unorthodox, but the pale genin had reason to believe that the current Steward would not appreciate it.

_"Strategy, not Tactics,"_ he reminded himself when the trio came to a halt in front of a large wooden table covered in maps. Several candles dimly threw their light upon the thick stone walls. The room itself had only one window, and it did very little to brighten the smokey space.

"Psst, Hoshi," hissed Susano'o into Eldarion's ear. "Do you have a flashlight?"

The dark-haired prince sighed, and reached into his backpack. Pulling out a battered yellow object, he passed the flashlight to his comrade.

"Only use it if you desperately need it," cautioned Eldarion. "We don't have anything like this back at home,"

His keen grey eyes were just able to make out Susano'o's amazed look.

"How did you ever survive?" he whispered in genuine awe.

Before the lanky genin could give the bandaged boy a proper glare, Faramir introduced him to two of his men.

"Susano'o, Hoshi, I would like you to meet Madril and Damrod. They would like to hear your plan for the city's defense,"

Eldarion's eyes widened when he was introduced to Madril. He had seen the man before, but that was when he was seven years old. His family was visiting Osgiliath and overseeing its rebuilding when he had seen the spirit. The sight of a grey-haired soldier, with a spear protruding from his ghostly chest, had frightened him so much that the image still haunted him. Now that he was able to put a name to the face, maybe the spector would finally leave him alone.

Bowing slightly and dry-mouthed, the stunned price slowly recalled his manners. "We thank you for this opportunity," he managed to say.

Both men nodded their heads in aknowledgement. Taking that as his cue to start, Eldarion approached a detailed map of Osgiliath that was spread out on the table. Susano'o carefully kept atop the tabletop and turned on the flashlight, holding it above the map. The pointed-eared genin bit back an irritated sigh before attempting to regain his audiance.

"My teammate and I have reason to believe that Osgiliath will be attacked from the river," he said, pointing to the Anduin. "We aren't sure how many would be attacking, but it would be safe to say a thousand at least," Susano'o frowned and passed him a scrap of paper. Reading it, Eldarion corrected himself. "Five thousand, at least,"

That caught their attention. Worried, Madril walked up beside him.

"I was under the impression that they would attack from here," he said softly, pointing to a site north of the city.

Susano'o nodded. "That's what they want you to believe. But I snuck over to their side of the river, quite by accident, really, and saw row upon row of quite cleverly built boats. And my favorite weatherboy right here predicted that tonight will be quite foggy; perfect for an offensive manuver,"

The elf-like boy's pointed ears twiched in irritation when his copper-skinned comrade called him a "weatherboy". While he had gained a reputation back in Konoha for giving reliable weather forecasts, Eldarion had no desire for the odd nickname to cross over into Middle Earth. Damrod, a young, dark-haired man, ran a gloved hand over his face.

"There is no way for us to repell such an attack," he said gloomily. "We don't have the manpower or the defenses,"

The tall genin nodded. "If were were to hold the defenses like normal, then we would be able to hold without retreating until late morning with heavy losses. If we go with my plan, then we can hold the line until late midday with minimal losses. No matter what, the orcs will take Osgiliath,"

Madril and Damrod looked at the two shinobi cautiously. "What is your plan, anyway?" asked Madril, with a hint of reservation in his curious tone.

Before Eldarion could form a single vowel, Susano'o mercilessly pounced on the discussion.

"Pull the men to the back of the city, and Hoshi will trap the sh!t out of the waterfront. When the bastards finally get through the traps, they will get to you guys, who would have gotten a decent rest. When we really begin to lose ground, or if any of those Naz-gulls comes by, then we retreat back to Minas Tirith,"

The two men nodded slightly, seeming to like the idea. Faramir, however, still didn't seem to be too keen on the retreating part of the plan.

"Lord Denethor would not be pleased to find out that Osgiliath was foresaken in favor of retreat," he murmured quietly.

Susano'o took a swig of sake from his gourd, turning his glassy eyes towards the Captain of Gondor. "You know, I wasn't real pleased with the idea of "running away" either, but when I saw what was coming at us, I knew that this place was gonna be taken no matter what. So you shouldn't give a flying f- about what Denethor-_sama_ says; just think about how many lives you are saving by pulling back to Minas Tirith instead of participating in a massacre,"

Faramir seemed to be slightly taken aback by the small, bandaged boy's motivational speech. Managing to nod and gather his composure, the future Steward spoke:

"We will place your plan into effect immediately. You both are dismissed,"

Relieved, Eldarion bowed slightly to the men and was then promptly dragged outside by Susano'o, who hadn't turned off the flashlight.

"C'mon, Hoshi!" he yelled boistorusly. "You have a lot of work to do!"

Groaning, the dark-haired boy stumbled after the copper-skinned genin.

_"After all this occurs, I would cut off my hand to never go into this Valar-be-damned city ever again,"_ he mentally grumbled under the bright azure sky.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:**

**Thank You WolfDemon1000, Esmeraude11, DreamingIn2Eternity, and ice vixen x for the reviews!**

**DreamingIn2Eternity: Thanks for the edits! I read through the chapter after posting it and felt like hitting my head against the wall because of all the stupid errors. Some of them were fixed. Good luck on your finals! (Even if you have already taken them).**

**Thank you all for the support! Now on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Rin looked over the city off into the distance, glancing at the ominous mountians surrounding More-door. She was surprised to learn that Gandalf owned a house in Minas Tirith. But the young medic was impressed by the building, which was built on the north side of the White City on the third level. The balcony she was on with Gandalf was part of Pippin's room; the wizard stood on it smoking his pipe. Rin sighed, deciding to stage an intervention for the Wizard, Aragorn, and both hobbits when the troubles were over. The Old Man did not seemed to be pleased with the day's events. Pippin stood over the bed, looking over a uniform that was laid out.<p>

"So I imagine this will be a ceramonial role," he said, unsheathing a sword. "They don't actually expect for me to fight. Do they?"

Gandalf removed the pipe from his mouth and turned to the hobbit. "You're in the service of the Steward now; you'll have to do as you're told, Peregrin Took" he stated before attempting to smoke again. The Istari choked slightly and grumbled, annoyed. Rin turned to the young hobbit, who was pouring some water for Gandalf.

"If you do have to fight, I could take your place," she said consolingly. Pippin gave her a thankful smile, but shook his head.

"I think the ruse would be easily discovered, Miss Rin. Mostly because you fight differently from me," he said kindly, eyes twinkling with mirth as he walked to the balcony. Pippin handed the goblet of water to the grateful wizard, who eagerly swollowed the water. The halfing looked skyward, a concerned look crossing his face. Rin could hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

"There's no more stars," he whispered, fear creeping into his voice. "Is it time?"

Gandalf looked down to Pippin. "Yes, it is," he said softly.

Rin couldn't help but gulp, worried. She leaned against the barrister, as did Pippin. The medic feared for Hoshi's safety in Osgiliath. Plumes of smoke rose up from the riverside city, along with the occasional flash of light.

"It's so quiet," he murmured.

"It's the deep breath before the plunge," commented Gandalf.

"It's one of the most stressful moments of battle, quiet lulls like these," Rin added quietly. "Waiting for the unknown, not knowing if you or your comrades will make it through,"

The hobbit turned to the field medic. "You are very brave, Rin. I don't want to be in a battle. I am sure you don't want to be in battle either. I don't know how you can stand it; waiting on the edge of what you can't escape, over and over,"

The brunette was touched by the young halfling's bravery. She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It helps to have good friends," she said with a smile.

Pippin gave her a small smile, nodding his thanks before turning to the Istari, who also seemed to be touched by her gesture.

"Is there any hope left, Gandalf?" he asked. "For Frodo and Sam?"

The petite girl had been thinking about the unfortunate pair. Although Hoshi said that they would be just fine, Rin couldn't help but worry constantly about the endearing pair of hobbits.

The White Wizard leaned down to their height, a thoughtful look on his face. "Just a fool's hope," he murmured with a small smile, before he turned his piercing gaze back over to Mordor. "Our enemy is ready. His full strength is gathered; not only orcs, but men as well. Legions of Haradian from the South, and Cosairs from the coast: all who answer Mordor's call,"

Rin's eyes widened slightly. "This Sour-run has many allies," she murmured anxiously.

Gandalf nodded. "This will be the end of Gondor as we know it. Here the hammerstroke will fall hardest," he declared. "If the river is taken, if the garrison at Osgiliath falls, the last defense of this city will be gone,"

Wringing her hands in her apron, the junior medic looked up to the Old man. "So then an attack will have to be deflected from the city itself?" she asked.

The Istari nodded, and Rin exhaled through her nose. "It is good that we hold a defensive position, because we do not have exceptionally high numbers of fighters here,"

"Indeed," added Pippin. "But we have the White Wizard, and the shinobi, so that must count for something,"

Rin blushed at the sweet hobbit's compliment, but Gandalf looked incredibly troubled.

"Gandalf?" whispered Pippin, worried by his older friend's silence.

After a long streach of quiet, the wizard spoke. "Sauron has yet to reveal his deadliest servent. The one who will lead Mordor's armies in war, the one they say no living man can kill. The Witch King of Angmar,"

"The one who destroyed Arnor?" asked Rin, who felt rather confused.

The Istari nodded. "The one and the same. You have met him before, Peregrin Took," Pippin gave him a disbelieving look, so Gandalf clarified. "He stabbed Frodo at Weathertop,"

Horrorfied recognition flittled across the hobbit's face before being replaced by a troubled look.

"He is the lord of the Nazgûl," continued the Old man. "The greatest of the Nine. Minas Morgal is his lair,"

Rin felt her head swim even more. "Gandalf," she whispered. "What are Naz-gulls?"

The Wizard looked surprised. "You don't know about the Ring wraiths?" he said, his bushy eyebrows shooting up his forehead. "Well, you haven't encountered one, your lack of knowledge is forgivable. They were once men, long ago, powerful kings, until Sauron gave them each a ring of power,"

Sauron. Despite all the trouble he had caused, the medic knew very little about this powerful, evil person. She was positive that Hoshi didn't know much about him either. But she decided to shelve the question and listen to Gandalf-_jiisama_.

"The rings corrupted them, extending their lives and turning them invisible thralls to the One," he continued. "They exude fear; prolonged exposure to them will give you nightmares and can kill you,"

The brunette's eyes widened. "We encountered one on the river after we left Lothlorien," she said. "We did not see it, however we did feel its presence," she shuddered. "It had strong Killing Intent,"

The White Wizard raised an eyebrow, prompting Rin to explain. "Shinobi learn how to project their intent to kill onto their enemies. It can be rather weak, simply giving the enemy the chills, to very strong. The best can freeze their opponents and even show them how they will be killed,"

Gandalf nodded slightly, looking out to Osgiliath before turning to her. "Why don't you hop to bed?" he suggested. "I am sure that you are quite tired,"

Agreeing with the wizard, despite recognizing the tactic to get rid of her, the medic bowed slightly to him and wished Pippin a good night. The hobbit laughed.

"Let us hope that our dreams will not bother us!" he said

•**~•~•~•~•~•~•**

The night was dark and foggy along the Anduin. The atmosphere reminded Eldarion of the Land of Water; due to the heavy mist and killing intent permeating the dim air. Susano'o stood by his side in the middle of the river.

"Are you sure that they are going to attack from the river?" asked the bandaged shinobi. "Faramir and the others were utterly convinced that they were coming from the north and what I saw could have been a diversion,"

Peering through the thick fog, the elf-like shinobi was able to make out the shapes of many boats. Grabbing his comrade's clone, Eldarion pulled the copper-skinned shinobi over to the bank and up the side of a building.

"Look," he said, pointing to the numerous dark watercrafts. "Do you see them?"

Susano'o's eyes widened. "Manda's stripes," he whispered, horrified. "And this is just the vanguard,"

Fishing through his weapon's poach, the tall genin pulled out a kunai with a tag attached to the end. Gently cluching the tag, he ran his chakra through it. When it was ready, he threw it into the river in the center of the boats.

_"Three, two, one," _he muttered

The Aduin exploded up into the sky, sending wood and orcs into the air, while alerting the defenders of their enemy. Susano'o watched, gobsmacked, as the water carried their enemies into the upwards and back down to the riverbed. Several boats broke, and many orcs were tossed into the water, drowning under the weight of their weapons and armor.

"Damn," cursed Eldarion. "That was a weaker one,"

"A weak one?" squeaked the bandaged shinobi. The lanky Gondorian refrained from rolling his eyes and carefully pulled his companion into the ruined building through a window. Stumbling in backwards, he felt his feet step on something they weren't supposed to.

His grey eyes widened in fear. _"Sh!t,"_

Thankfully, Susano'o was smart enough to grab him by the collar and hurl him into the air, immediately following him. Seconds later the tower exploded. Eldarion covered his ears, his nails digging into his head as the noise became painful. Twisting his torso, the dark-haired genin managed to quietly land on the river's surface next to Susano'o.

The copper-skinned genin was giving him a slow clap. "Wonderful," he drawled. "Absolutely marvelous. What a perfect way to nearly screw up our entire plan!"

Eldarion gave him a venoumous glare, but he had to concede that the alcoholic shinobi was correct. If the boats already hadn't unloaded, then the orcs would have retreated to the other side of the river. The clumsy slip-up was also a slight bruise on his ego. Eldarion had always taken pride in his innate agility and grace, so tripping his own trap stung his pride. From the Anduin, his sharp ears were able to pick up the grunts and crys of the injured orcs as they made their way westward across the city. Susano'o gestured with his head, and the two genin flickered back to Faramir's position. The Steward's son jumped slightly upon their arrival, nearly dropping a battered yellow object.

"Good Evening, Faramir-_taichou_," greeted Susano'o in quiet cheer. Eldarion merely stared at the Rangers of Ithilien, who were holding pieces of Susano'o's portable radio. The Captain of Gondor was holding the flashlight, which had turned on when Faramir had nearly dropped it.

The elf-like boy re-covered his ears, waiting for his comrade to notice the damage done to the radio. He did not have to wait long.

"What the-!" sputtered Susano'o, shoving the sheepish men aside to survey the damage. "This, this is outrageous! Didn't your mothers teach you not to touch others' things? And I don't care if they weren't there when you hooligans were growing up, that is no excuse! And you!" he cried, rounding on poor Faramir. "You should learn to control your men! Have you ever heard the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat'?"

The unfortunate man shook his head, still holding the flashlight. Sighing, Eldarion gently removed the object from Faramir's grasp and turned it off. The disraught genin turned to him, holding out a bandaged hand for the flashlight. Wordlessly, the lanky boy gave it to him.

_*"All of them are f- nimrods. I need a drink. I am surrounded by technologically challenged idiots,"* _grumbled the irate shinobi.

Susano'o stormed off, removing his gourd from his steel-colored robe. Faramir turned to the other shinobi, thourghly abashed.

"I am very sorry, Hoshi," he said remorsefully. "I did not know we broke it. But when Anborn twisted one of the round things, it started screaming, and we couldn't get it to stop,"

Eldarion gave the confused and sheepish Gondorian a large smile. "That is perfectly understandable. They have many strange objects back in Konoha, but the radio is rather new to them, thus, 'tis very precious,"

A young and beardless ranger looked up from the radio, which he was fiddling with. "I believe that we can fix it, if need be," he said quietly.

"You better fix it!" cried Susano'o from up a tower. "I would like to get some actual music for once,"

The elf-like boy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is there a problem with our songs?" he grumbled defensively.

His companion snorted. "Oh, I have a whole list of complaints about this place," he said, before starting on a long-winded rant in his native language. Quickly tuning out the annoying shinobi, the lanky genin approached the rangers, who seemed to have fixed the radio, because he could hear words filtering through the crackling speakers.

_*"Iwa has just captured Kannabi Bridge in the Land of Grass and has openly declared War on Konoha. Sandime Hokage has responded in turn, despite the village's current problems with Suna, who has blamed them for the disappearence of their Kazekage-"*_

Eldarion immediately shut off the radio, wanting nothing more than to return home to his peaceful world, never to be troubled by the constant war. Faramir must have seen his expression, because he put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What ill news was given, my friend?" he asked softly.

The adopted Uchiha gave the intelligent captain a sorrowful look. "Two powerful Villages have declared war on us. Many my age will be sent on dangerous missions because there are so few adults left from the last war. We have not recovered fully from it," he responded quietly. "So many of my friends will not live to see the end of the war,"

There was a sudden yelp and crash as Susano'o tumbled to the ground, cluching a black arrow in his fist.

"Forget about the future war," grumbled the copper-skinned genin. "Let's focus on the fact that the _oni_ have broken through the first line of traps,"

Snickering slightly at the alcoholic's pain, Eldarion dodged a few of the enemy's arrows while climbing up his companion's former perch. His good humor faded as he looked over the defenses.

_"We have our work cut out for us," _the pale boy thought darkly.

•**~•~•~•~•~•~•~•**

Rin tossed and turned between the white linen coverlets. Try as she might, the brunette was unable to find sleep. Fed up with staring at the ceiling, the medic silently slid out of the bed and quickly got dressed. She was sick to death of lying around when she could be helping Hoshi and Susano'o's clone in the beseiged city of Osgiliath. After gathering all her necessary supplies the petite girl silently crept toward the open window.

"Going for a stroll, I presume?"

Rin yelped and nearly fell out the open entrance. Gandalf was standing in the doorway, smoking his pipe. The young medic scowled at the meddling Istari.

"You do know that smoking will give you lung problems," she said rather sharply, wincing at her cruel tone.

The Old man chuckled. "While I thank you for your kind concern about my health, that did not answer my question. You are headed out to Osgiliath,"

The short-haired brunette nodded mutely, still straddling the windowframe. The White wizard reached into his ivory robes and removed a piece of rolled-up parchment.

"I would go from the rooftops instead of the streets," he recommended as he handed her the yellowed paper. "I didn't have a map of Minas Tirith, and it would be safer for you to avoid the streets at night,"

Rin unfurled the parchment, revealing a rather detailed map of the city on the river. She looked up and gave the wise wizard a thankful smile. "Many thanks, Gandalf-_jiisama_," she whispered.

The grandfatherly man chuckled and patted her on the head. "Make sure to return by noontime tomorrow," he said as she slippes out the window and vaulted over to the adjacent roof. The ivory stone used to make the entire city was slipperly, even for her chakra-enhanced grip. Despite the frequent stumbles, the fortunate medic managed to make it to the city's walls. Dodging the night watch, Rin climbed up over the wall and down to the vast fields that lay before the city. Peering into the inky night, the petite genin managed to make out the faint shape of her destination. Kicking her legs into overdrive, Team 7's only female member tore across the sprawling plains towards the city on the river. She arrived at the ruined city several minutes later, grateful for the excuse to stop. Rin stumbled over to a low wall and collapsed on top of it. Something was odd with this city. The noises of battle, while present, were unusually subdued, and instead of seeing humans, all she could see was numerous horses, all lined up against the outer walls. It was oddly peaceful here, and the stars seemed to be much brighter. The petite girl closed her eyes and slowly drifted off.

‡*‡*‡

"Dare datte shippai wa surunda,

hazukashii koto janai.

Kono kizu o muda ni shinai de

waratte arukereba ii,"**†**

A soft, whispery voice singing drew the medic from her slumber. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Rin sat up to see a familiar figure sitting on a high wall across from hers.

"Hello, Susano'o," she said politely. The copper-skinned genin waved at her lazily, cluching a rather worn-looking radio by his side.

"I was going to fetch you, but you saved me the trouble of having to look for you in that maze of a city," he said quietly with a soft smile. "I was going to wake you, but mother always told me that it was very impolite to wake someone up,"

Rin arched a coffee-colored eyebrow. "Why would you be looking for me in Minas Tirith? Wouldn't Hoshi be the better choice?"

The bandaged shinobi sighed. "Weather boy has out-done himself with the quantity of genjutsu here and can't leave. Besides, do you think he would leave the city after entering it?"

The petite medic folded her arms, not entirely amused. "I think Hoshi would be able to leave Minas Tirith whenever he wishes," she said coolly. "Now, what do you need me to do?"

Leaping down from the wall, Susano'o gestured for his fellow leaf-villager to follow him. "We set up a small infirmary nearby. Luckily, not many people had been seriously injured yet, but it would be better to have a good medic on hand,"

Rin nodded, slightly lost in thought. They walked in silence for awhile, listening to the muted sounds of a battle rage just beyond their sight.

"Susano'o," she asked. "Why did you not report us Orochimaru-sama when you encountered us that night in Rohan?"

Her companion was quiet for a few minutes, a reluctant look on his face. Chewing his lip, the seagull-summoner responded hesitantly.

"You know how Uzumaki Kushina says 'listen to your gut'?" he said. "Well my gut was telling me to keep this little meeting secret, and I wanted to stay a little longer here. If I told Orochimaru-sensei where you all were, we would have immediately returned home. Ah, here we are,"

They stood in the doorway of a crumbling stone house with a tile roof that sported several holes. Susano'o confidently walked in, and Rin followed him through the threshhold.

"Everyone, this is Rin; Rin, everyone," introduced the bandaged boy. "She is a damn good healer, so if you have a serious injury, she will patch you up,"

The small brunette noticed the looks shot her way by the injured soldiers. The one healer in the room looked relieved.

"Oh, excellent!" he said with a hint of weariness in his voice. "I could use another pair of hands. You wouldn't mind stiching up a few wounds?"

Rin smiled slightly. "That's what I am here for," she said shyly before going to work; glad to be of use. The young medic worked ceaselessly throughout the night, doing her best to heal the growing number of wounded soldiers as the moon traveled across the star-studded sky. By the time dawn came around, the petite bruntette was ready to drop dead from exhaustion. Collapsing on a tiny stool, Rin fell into a fitful slumber.

_She was standing on the battlements of Konoha's outer wall, looking over the Land of Grass. Everything was red: a sea of scarlet. Kakashi was standing to her right, dressed as an ANBU and splattered in blood. Obito stood to her left, but it was only half of him. In fact, his entire right side was missing. _

_"What happened to you?" she asked, horrifed. He didn't answer. Rin tried to reach out to the Uchiha, but she found out that her hands were bound behind her back. The medic began to panic, turning to Kakashi._

_"Kakashi! Kakashi!" she screamed, but the masked chūnin didn't even flinch. Instead, his dark eyes chips of flint as he regarded her coldly. Rin felt the ropes around her wrists begin to twist and hiss; they were snakes. They wrapped around her body, slowly squeezing the life out of her. Beyond terror, Team Minato's medic looked over the edge of the wall to see Hoshi sitting on a giant falcon. Her strange teammate looked back at her with sorrow in his eyes._

_"Once we part, we shall not meet,_

_Again no more, shall we ever speak._

_Together, we all will never be._

_Not in life, and never in death,_

_Although you plea most lustily,_

_I beg you to save your breath."_

_He paused, his fair face frozen in fear. Hoshi's grey eyes rolled back into his head, and the serpent's coils loosen a fraction. Then he spoke again, his voice raspy and harsh._

_"Fly, Fly!_

_Something wicked this way comes!_

_Something terrible, fell and dark,_

_A lord of Fear's kingdom, _

_with the Eye as his mark._

_Flee! Flee! _

_Run to some place far, _

_For no living man can slay him:_

_The Witch-King of Angmar,"_

**AN:**

†**Naruto ending 4 ALIVE.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:**

**Thank you e7cg13, GlidingOne, ice vixen, and DreamingIn2Eternity for the reviews! Also thank you to TrueArtIsFleeting for putting this on your story alerts, sorry for not mentioning you earlier! I hope you like this chapter. Sorry on the slow going! The reviews boost my motivation...**

**Thank You all for the support, now on to the show!**

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><p>Aragorn awoke to the sound of arguing. The language was not Rohirric, mostly because it was too tonal and clipped. He felt his shoulder being shaken by eager hands.<p>

"Wake up, Strider!" cried an cheerfully accented voice. "I think that a brawl might start!"

The groggy ranger forced his grey eyes open to see Merry looking down at him with a rather panicked look. Seeing that he was up, the halfling began tugging on his hand.

"C'mon Strider!" he cried. Allowing himself to be pulled along, Aragorn slowly stumbled through the hallways into the great hall. What he saw there shocked him out of his sleepy state. Smashed tables and broken benches littered the gilded hall, while flames merrily crackled in the fire pit. Foreign words filled the air, which snapped with surpressed energy. The Bradybuck pulled him through the crowd of on-lookers, who were absolutely silent. They came to a stop next to Eomer and Legolas, who were translating the angry words being said. Aragorn looked down to Merry and said quietly:

"I think the brawl might have already occured,"

The ranger looked at the shinobi, (for indeed it was them) who were standing in two groups, separated only by the fire pit. Gimli, who was standing on Legolas' left, greeted him.

"About time you awoke, laddie," grumbled the dwarf. "It's a wonder that Thèoden King hasn't been awoken by this ruckus,"

Minato, Obito, and Anko stood on the side of the fire closest to the throne. Orochimaru, Kakashi and Susano'o stood on the side closest to the door. The two teachers were screaming at each other while the students refrained to obscene gestures. Kuro stood in the middle, holding the uncloaked palantír. The uncomfortable-looking Uchiha nodded a greeting to the Dunedain. Legolas, presumably reading the confusion he felt in his eyes, launched into an explanation of the situation.

"Susano'o received a message from his clone that war had broken out in their homeland late at night, and he ended up waking all the other shinobi to discuss the news. Orochimaru contacted their leader through the palantír to verify the information, which unfortunatly turned out to be true. Now they are devided on the desicion on whether to stay here or return home,"

Aragorn nodded quietly, slowly beginning to understand. "So their ruler is listening to their debate right now?" he asked.

The blonde archer nodded. "Minato, Obito and Anko want to remain until the end while Orochimaru, Kakashi and Susano'o want to return immediately,"

The ranger was stunned. "Without their comrades?" he asked, allowing anger to color his soft tone. "Why can't the ones who want to leave, leave and those who want to stay, stay?"

"Apparently the terms are 'all or nothing'," interjected Eomer, who wore an irritated look on his face. "Their leader is reluctant to separate them,"

As the arguing reached a creshendo, the alien words and volume of the squabble caused Aragorn to recieve a headache. Just as he was about to step in, a loud command split through the air.

"Will you BE QUIET!" roared Thèoden, standing behind his throne, wearing his nightclothes. The shinobi immediately shut up, having the good grace to look mortifed. The King pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly annoyed. "Would any of you be so kind as to explain this?" he asked, waving his hand around the ruined room.

A sigh came from the palantír. "I am sorry for the damage they have caused," said a heavily accented, dignified voice. "Shinobi tend to over-react when it comes to wars. I am Sandime Hokage, their leader. You are Thèoden King, I presume?"

The Horselord cautiously walked closer to the seeing stone. "Indeed I am," he said warily. "Do you mind shedding some light as to why a brawl occured before the sun has risen?"

Aragorn peered at the image within the seeing stone. Sandime was a tan, brown-haired man with a pointed beard. He wore a strange, wide hat, and white and red robes. A tired, yet confident look was on his face. The man sighed before answering.

"We have recently found ourselves in a full-blown war, and our military power is the lowest it has ever been. Although I appreciate my student's desire to return home in order to help us, there is really no reason for them to return until their mission is completed. But as shinobi are apt to do, they split into two sides and had a couple physical and verbal arguements. It is my wish for them to stay until their mission is completed, so I apologize for the needless destruction,"

Thèoden nodded, giving the shinobi leader a small smile. "It was only a few tables. I wish you good fortune in your battles,"

Sandime chuckled. "And good luck with yours," he said, before freezing slightly. "I must go now. Behave, Minato, Orochimaru!"

The palantir faded to its original dark color as the hall fell into a tense silence. Strange noise came out of the radio in Anko's hands; its odd sound strangely fitting for the situation at hand. Orochimaru was the first to break the silence.

''My deepest apologies for trashing you fine hall. I thank you for your generous hospitality, Thèoden-_sama_," he said, sweeping his leg and arm out for a deep bow. "I must be off. *_The orcs of More-doors don't study themselves*_," the serpentine ended his statement with a chuckle, and disappeared as violet flames consumed him. Aragorn had to consciencely stop his jaw from dropping, but Eomer had no such qualms; openly gawking at the jōnin's display of power. As usual, the king of Rohan looked unphased. Turning toward the on-lookers, who were mainly servants, he said:

"Off to bed! I would not like to hear complains come the sunrise,"

Slowly, the great hall emptied until only Eomer, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, the shinobi and Aragorn were left. The ranger scanned the shinobi's faces, mostly encountering guarded expressions. Minato looked furious, his hands clenched into fists and he shook with rage.

"How I wish the bastard was still here," snarled the irate shinobi, his face a stony mask. Obito placed a soothing hand on his teacher's arm, a worried look on his face.

"There is no point in antagonizing the situation any further, Sensei," the black-hair boy said gently. "We already caused enough property damage as is,"

Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow. "I would think that you would be more upset, considering your relation with the insulted,"

The goggles wearing boy shot a glare at his teammate. _*"I would have fireballed your ass if not for the fact we are inside a stupidly flammible building,"*_ he spat."Hoshi can field his own insults. He probably would laugh at its unoriginality,"

Susano'o surpressed a cackle by stuffing his fist in his mouth. Kuro didn't even bother, nearly dropping the palantír in his mirth. Aragorn was feeling increasingly out of the loop, and Eomer looked like he was going to blow his top soon, most likely due to the wanton destruction of the hall.

"Um, pardon me, but what happened?" asked Merry, his voice squeaking slightly.

The shinobi looked at one another, before a significantly calmer Minato turned to them. "You might want to sit down," he said. "Because I am going to start at the beginning,"

* * *

><p>The sun had long since set as Minato had settled down near the fire pit in the main hall. The weak flames produced a sufficent amount of light for the jōnin to read comfortably. Pulling out an unedited draft of Jiraiya-sensei's new novel, <em>Icha Icha Paradise<em>, the Yellow Flash began to read. He felt his cheeks slowly heat up due to the perverted and racy content. The jōnin quickly finished the chapter, covering up the words, glad that nobody nearby could read the words.

"So my foolish teammate is writing again?" sighed a serpentine voice. Minato jumped, looking up to see Orochimaru standing over him, a white hand outstreached. His face flushed with embarressment, the yellow-haired shinobi handed the senior jōnin the draft. The Snake Sannin read the first two pages before handing the potential book back to him.

"Don't let Hoshi translate this," he said seriously. The Yellow Flash nodded, taking the X-rated material and pocketing it. Deciding to do something productive, Minato removed several _Hiraishin_ kunai from a storage scroll, along with a flask of _oni_ blood, empty tags and a brush. Setting to work, the shinobi proceeded to rewrite the seals using the chakra-dense, black blood. With occasional glances, he saw Orochimaru spread out several papers and a couple scrolls on a table across from him. The serpentine man wore an annoyed look on his face, eventually growling in frustration.

"Is something wrong?" Minato tentively asked, gently putting down the kunai he retagged.

The Snake Sannin gave him a distressed look. "I don't know if the Dunedain and the elf were playing me for a fool and feeding me false information. There is absolutely no way that anyone that calls themselves human can live beyond two centuries without truely aging. And nothing with that level of sentience can live forever without losing their sanity due to their perspective of time speeding up to nonsensical levels. It just doesn't fit!" he snarled, slamming his fist down on the sturdy wooden table. Unfortunately, the table wasn't as sturdy as it look because it broke, spilling all of his papers onto the floor. Cursing, the black-haired jōnin collected the notes off the floor, waving for Minato to sit down when the younger man started to get up. Orochimaru moved his notes to a different table, pulling out on sheaf of paper from the pile to read to Minato.

"What do you think of this?" he said, raising an inky eyebrow. "Apparently the Dunedain are desendents of the people from the island of Númenor, which was in the seas to the west of here. Aragorn told me that the island was a gift to the men who helped the elves fight against a demonic power, whom Sour-on served. The humans were also granted lifespans at least three times the average human life-span and the ability to choose when they die naturally, all the while retaining their youth. Eventually, they became resentful of the elves immortality (despite their own long lives), and rebelled against the higher powers of this world. Apparently Sour-on had a part in this, starting a cult to that demonic power involving human sacrifice. Númenor was destroyed and a bunch of noble Númenórians fled to Middle Earth, established Gondor and some other kingdom in the north and became the Dunedain. How arrogant are they?" finished the Sannin, placing the paper back on the table.

Minato sighed, thinking how to respond. He could see envy glittering in the jōnin's serpentine, amber eyes. Closing his blue eye briefly, the yellow-haired shinobi added his two cents.

"It sounds like a cautionary tale of sorts. The moral of the story seems to be that one should not want what one shouldn't have. It also points out that one loses their humanity along the road," he said hesitantly. His sensei's teammate gave him a chilling look, before a terrifying smile crossed his face.

"Jiraiya has all the right to be proud of you," he murmured. The jōnin looked like he was going to say something else, when something flew over their heads and crashed into the tables near the outside door, smashing three of them. The two elite shinobi looked to see Susano'o lash out with his bandages at Obito, who was standing near the throne. The Uchiha lept behind the beautifully carved throne, effectively preventing the bandages from attacking him. Minato ran over to his student, while Orochimaru nonchalantly snached the bandages out from the air while packing up his papers in the scrolls. The Yellow Flash ducked as another shinobi was thrown into the hall, hitting and breaking more tables. The shinobi turned out to be Kakashi, who promptly grabbed a bench and threw it at Anko, who was standing in the threshhold, laughing. Obito vaulted into the air and smashed it with an axe kick, expertly landing on the floor.

"Will you all stop it?" cried a distressed voice. Kuro shoved Anko aside as he charged into the hall holding the radio and covered palantír. The young medic held out the marbled ball to his sensei as music blared from the speakers.

"Sensei, please contact Hokage-sama for us," he pleaded, upset.

Orochimaru blinked in surprise. "Whatever for?" he responded, a bemused look on his face.

"Susano'o down in Osgiliath heard through the radio that Iwa has officially declared war on us and invaded the Land of Grass. We want to know if it is true," Kuro's voice was dripped in denial.

"Yeah, so we can get Hoshi and Rin and leave this place," added the copper-skinned boy, who managed to pull himself out of the table.

"By we he means Kakashi and him," added Anko scornfully. "We are on a mission that we shouldn't abandon. I mean, we are going to be filthy stinkin' rich if we complete this!"

Obito nodded. "Yeah!" he cried. "Besides, it's not convenient for us to go down south then run all the way north,"

"So you are motivated by greed and laziness not to do your duty as shinobi," said Kakashi calmly.

Before the outraged two could say anything, Orochimaru held out his hand, asking for quiet. In the corner of his eye Minato spotted Legolas listening in on their argument. He did not know how long the elf had been there, only that the amount of noise made by them must have awakened others. He turned his attention back to the palantír, only to see a dark copper-skinned women smiling coyly at the Snake Sannin.

"Do you miss me?" she crooned, twirling a lock of dark red-brown hair around an elegantly manicured finger.

"Mother!" choked Susano'o, his eyes wide with surprise. The women immediately dropped her flirty act, giving her son a brief smile.

"Ooo, is everyone here? Where is Hoshi-kun, I would like to ask him a few questions," she chirped.

"The stranger is not here, Akira," said Orochimaru. "Now where is Sarutobi-sensei?"

Akira pouted. "Not content to leave a message?" she asked sulkily.

The pale jōnin shot her a look. "Fine, I'll get him," the kunoichi grumbled, stomping out of view like a little child.

As soon as she left Anko sprung into the air, looking very much like Cookie the warg, to pounce on Kakashi. The masked chūnin, caught off guard, fell to the ground. He kicked the kunoichi into the air, scrambling to his feet. Susano'o came from behind him, leaping into the air and aiming a kick at his teammate's face. Anko expertly blocked it, grabbed his leg and flung him down, smashing the tables that broke his fall. She landed sideways on a pillar, swiftly climbing down to sturdier ground. Meanwhile, Kakashi attacked Obito, forcing the Uchiha on the defensive. The goggles-wearer fended off the many punches and kicks, even throwing a few himself. Minato looked around the room. The only thing that appeared to be severely damaged was the tables. Legolas wasn't the only onlooker now; in fact, he was joined by an army of servents and Eomer, who didn't look pleased.

"Is this the best you can do?" Kakashi taunted calmly. "Your weak and cowardly little brother is better than you. Hell, the ranger is better than you!"

The silver-haired boy was shoved toward the fire pit, and carefully aimed a tongue of fire at him. The agile chūnin backflipped over the flames, allowing the fire to land in the pit. Obito shook with indignant rage. But before he could do anything, Orochimaru interfeared.

"Be still!" he snapped. "We are guests in someone else's home! Besides, I cannot hear Sarutobi-sensei,"

The Yellow Flash turned his head to see an image of the Sandime Hokage in the strange looking stone, smoking his pipe.

"It seems that you are all doing well," commented the kage. "Where are Rin and Hoshi?"

"They are elsewhere," answered his student, leaning his pale cheek against his hand. "Is it true that we are at war with Iwagakure?"

The Professor seemed to wilt before their eyes. "So you heard the news?" he said wearily.

The Snake Sannin nodded, closing his amber eyes for a moment. The violet lids soon shot up, revealing a determined look. He sat upright and stood, handing the palantír to Kuro, who uncertainly took it.

"We'll leave at once," he said, heading toward the door, followed by Susano'o and Kakashi. Minato felt fury bubble up inside him. Clenching his jaw and fists, he willed himself to calm down.

"Just where do you think you're going?" he hissed icely. The Legendary Shinobi halted, as did Kakashi and Susano'o, who both looked back with uncertainty.

"I am going to my village, which is in dire need of support. I don't know what you are doing," Orochimaru responded coldly, refusing to turn around.

"In the middle of a mission!" cried the yellow-haired jōnin, throwing out his arm. "Without the entire team!"

"Ah, we would have to pick up Rin in Gondor," murmured the serpentine shinobi. "I forgot about that,"

Obito looked just as furious as his teacher. "What about my brother!" he added.

"What about him?" Orochimaru said cooly. "This is his world. We can leave him here,"

"No we can't!" screamed the Uchiha. "This isn't his time! We are roughly sixteen years before then!"

The Snake Sannin was silent. Worried, Obito turned toward his cousin, who shrugged at him. The pale man turned around, a wild look in his eye.

"He knows the way back," snapped the shinobi. Minato gave his sensei's teammate a skeptical look.

"Why can we not take him with us when we get Rin?" he asked warily.

The older jōnin snorted. "Do you honestly think he would abandon this situation?" he scoffed. "Besides, he's cowardly and useless on the battlefield,"

Kakashi actually shot Orochimaru an incredulous look, but said nothing.

Minato, however, practically steamed with surpressed anger. "Useless?" he roared. "Cowardly? You demean a boy who stands up for what he believes in and knows when to fight and when to flee! You insult his honor by suggesting that he would not leave the mission when he is commanded to. In fact, you are sullying the Konoha name by proposing that we bail out on a task we promised to see through to the end!"

"Curb your tongue or I shall cut it from your mouth!" hissed the serpentine jōnin, shooting the younger man a look laced with Killing Intent. It was clear that the Snake Sannin was backed into a corner. Despite knowing that the Yellow Flash was right, his pride did not allow for him to admit his error. Seeing this, the yellow-haired man jumped on his weakness mercilessly.

"No, I will not be silent!" he cried. "Not so long as you ridicule my student and persue a shameful plan!"

"Will you BE QUIET!"

Minato would never admit that he was briefly frightened by Thèoden's forceful command. He felt his cheeks burn with shame as he realized that their arguing had awokened the entirety of Meduseld. Sarutobi-sama seemed to have learned a translation technique, because he was talking to the miffed Rohirric king. He had to hold back a gloating grin when the Hokage ordered them to see the mission through. Thèoden and Sandime-sama exchanged goodbyes, and the kage gently warned him and Orochimaru to behave. The Snake Sannin bristled slightly at the warning, anger simmering in his eyes. Tension filled the air until the older jōnin decided to make his escape.

As he dissolved into purple flames, Minato began to contimplate murder.

"Off to bed! I would not like to hear complains come the sunrise," said Thèoden, dismissing the crowd.

Soon, only they were left, along with Aragorn, Legolas, Eomer, Merry, and Gimli.

* * *

><p>The blonde elf cloud not believe his ears.<p>

"What do you mean I can't be human?" demended Aragorn, looking outraged. Minato's eye twiched.

"I never said you weren't human," he said testily. "That was Orochimaru,"

Anko nodded, stifling a yawn. "Yeah, I mean, you are downright normal compared to the Kaguya,"

Everyone blinked. "The what now?" said Obito, looking confused.

"A clan in the Land of Water that can use their bones to fight," she answered calmly.

Legolas was horrified, but managed not to show it. Eomer looked intriged, but he ended up changing the subject.

"So does every place you fight in get as damaged as this?" he asked, waving his hand at the destruction.

The shinobi looked at one another, and ducked their heads in embarressment.

"Well," Kuro started, rubbing the back of his next. "The place is usually rubble and on fire..." he trailed off weakly.

The blonde horselord raised an eyebrow. "So you held back," he concluded.

"Did you want the place to be up in flames?" Kuro asked innocently, a confused look on his face.

The man chuckled, but refrained form commenting further. Merry and Gimli had fallen asleep atop each other, causing Legolas to smile softly. Kakashi, Obito and Susano'o yawned in unison, prompting a chuckle from Minato.

"Off to bed, all of you," he said gently. "The sun has not yet risen, so get some rest,"

The children slowly got up, suffling off to their room. Kakashi lingered for a moment, quickly embracing his surprised teacher before running off to join the others. The archer thought that he saw a tear rolling down the boy's face. The yellow-haired man stood up himself.

"It think I might join them in the realm of dreams. Sleep well, if you do!" he said, quietly walking out of the room. The two men and elf released a breath they did not know they were holding.

"Such anger!" said Eomer, amazed. "I would not like to be their enemy,"

Aragorn had a hurt look on his face, which was half hidden behind his folded hands. "They only remain for the reward," he whispered bitterly.

The Rohir snorted. "Of course. Their home cannot be threatened by Sauron,"

The ranger gave him a harsh look. "Then are we not their friends? Or are we simply their clients?"

Legolas inhaled quietly. This thought had been bothering him since Lothlorien, and had remained unspoken to all ears but Lady Galadriel's. The shinobi were big on secrets, he knew that from hearing the sunny Minato's threat to Aragorn should the Dunedain let slip his student's abilities. The elf was not keen to face their wrath.

"I believe that Hoshi might be related to you, Aragorn," he whispered.

The man's grey eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible," he said shortly.

"Then explain why they even ran into us in the first place," Legolas pointed out.

The prince of Mirkwood was surprised to see a flash of pain cross Aragorn's face. The tall man slowly stood up and walked out of the damaged hall. Eomer sighed, getting to his feet, too.

"This night has been quite eventful," he murmured. "But I would like to get some rest before the sun rises. Goodnight, Legolas,"

The blonde elf sighed, glaceing over at the dreaming dwarf and hobbit.

"Pip, don't put the firework upside-down," mumbled Merry, shifting in his sleep.

Gimli gave an extremely loud snore. "Don't you dare put that dress on me, laddie," he grumbled, his words slurring.

Legolas shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face. _"Dwarfs are strange, even in their dreams,"_ he thought as the first light of trickled through the windows.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity and GlidingOne for reviewing! Also thank you to Lordequinox for favoriting!**

**Feedback of any sort inspires me and gets these chapters out quicker. So for the twenty-something of you who seem to be reading this, the review button is open to all and it doesn't bite. **

**Thank you all for the support and on with the show!**

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><p>Kakashi was awakened from his not so peaceful slumber by a slobbery lick up the back of his head. The Hatake turned over and was rewarded with another lick to the face.<p>

"Rise 'n shine, sleeping beauty!" chirped Anko. "We have to clean up the mess we made before breakfast can be served, and you know how hungry people get in the morning!"

The chūnin slowly sat up and opened his dark eyes. He was promptly greeted by a faceful of warg breath. The speckled Cookie stood mere inches from his face, wagging her strange tail. His warg, (dubbed Rocky by Anko) was sniffing Obito's face as the Uchiha snored. Kakashi scowled and gently kicked his teammate in the back. With a yelp, the black-haired boy was awake.

"Get up, tardy. We have to clean up the mess we made last night," he said flatly, getting out of bed. The masked boy could hear Obito's grumbling as he washed up (cleaning his spiky hair) and pulled on a newish shirt. Making sure that the Uchiha didn't fall back to sleep, Kakashi removed the covers from his possession before heading to the hall. The chūnin's thoughts wandered to his dream. It had been the first time he dreamt about his father for months. He was surprised that it was Minato-sensei's achingly familiar goodnight that had triggered the dream; Unlike Hoshi's grievous insult and prediction in the Golden Wood, which made him sleep quite peacefully that night. That reminded him to ask the oddball where he received his information, because next to nobody put two and two together to figure out that he was the White Fang's son.

"Oh, good, someone who can polish the floor,"

Kakashi was jolted out of his thoughts upon his unconscience arrival in the hall and subsequent greeting by Susano'o. He looked around to see Kuro, Susano'o, Minato-sensei, Anko and Eowyn literally scrubbing the formally wreaked room clean. Sensei was arranging new tables along the hall while Kuro and Susano'o were sweeping and mopping the floor. Anko was assisting Eowyn with cleaning the banners and tapestries that lined the hall. The faint scent of cinnimon and ginger hung in the air, confusing Kakashi.

"I thought we agreed not to polish the floor," said Kuro, who paused to wring out his mop in a bucket. "Mostly because that would make them too slippery,"

Susano'o frowned but chose not to argue. Instead, the copper-skinned boy waltzed over to the mop bucket and peered in to see the murky water. He sniffed and looked up at his teammate.

"What soap did you put in here?" he inquired. The long-haired Uchiha gave him a wide grin.

"It's this top notch dog shampoo that Inuzuka Tsume recommended," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. "I offered it to Strider, but he didn't seem to be to keen on the offer. Which is a shame, 'cause he really could use it,"

"You use dog shampoo?" Kakashi couldn't prevent the mocking incredulity from dripping off his words. Kuro shot him a haughty look.

"I wouldn't be talking if my dog tended to use ladies' shampoo," he said with a sniff, returning to his work. The masked chūnin stifled a sigh and walked toward the door. Minato-sensei flashed a smile at him as he passed the jōnin. Opening the door, Kakashi briefly stopped at the top of the many steps to gaze upon the city of Edoras and its surroundings. While it was not an ideal environment shinobi, the plains and the surrounding mountains were beautiful in the morning light. Indeed, Middle Earth was a very beautiful place, not quite like their home world. _"Everything is very different here than from the Hidden Nations," _he thought as he walked down the steps and strolled through the dirt streets. The silver-haired shinobi was content to let his feet carry him aimlessly around until he spotted a familiar figure sitting by a barn. Kakashi cautiously approached the tall man and sat down beside him.

"You really shouldn't smoke," he said flatly. "It ruins your lungs,"

Aragorn removed the pipe from his mouth and slowly turned to face the young boy. The thought that the well-meaning comment might have been rude hadn'd crossed his mind until now, causing his face to redden slightly in embarressment. But instead of berating him, the grey-eyed man chuckled.

"Arwen doesn't like smoking, either," he said quietly, a far-away look in his eyes.

Kakashi had heard that name before. If he remembered correctly, she was Hoshi's mother.

"Who is Arwen?" he asked quietly. The ranger leaned back against the barn wall, a wistful look upon his face.

"She is the fairest of the elves, and holds the key to my heart," he said, clearly smitten.

"Ah," murmured the Hatake, who decided to cut the man off before he could go off on a tangent about her. Despite Aragorn's seriousness, the ranger seemed have a very romantic view of love. "How long have you been together?" he asked. When the tall man gave him a blank look, the shinobi clarified. "Like courting or betrothal,"

His companion inhaled deeply through his nose. "We have been betrothed for thirty four years,"

Kakashi could feel his eyes jumping out of their sockets. "What!" he cried in shock. "Why haven't you been married yet?"

The ranger's normal meloncoly countenance returned. "I am only permitted to marry her when I take up my birthright and ascend to the throne of Gondor," he said softly.

The masked shinobi never thought that he would feel sorry for the tall man, but miracles do occur. "Wow. That must suck,"

His uncharacteristic comment made Aragorn laugh. "Indeed, it is not very agreeable," he concurred, before sinking back into his depressed state again.

Kakashi blinked. "If something is eating away at you, it helps to share it," he said, feeling like a hypocrite as he uttered the advice. Aragorn turned his head and gave him a sorrowful look.

"You know about the differances between elves and men, right?" started the ranger. "Elves are immortal, unless they are killed or grief takes them. They go to a different place than men when they die. Many of them are going west across the seas to escape the pain of Middle Earth. Men and other mortals are not premitted to follow them. Arwen has moral blood in her veins, so she is given a choice; to stay with me and become mortal, or go over the seas and remain an elf. She has family in the West, and her father wishes for her to go west. Although I wish for her to stay, it is rather selfish of me to ask that of her. Before I left to go on this quest, I told her to take the ships west at her father's urging. I fear that she has taken my words to heart and has left these shores,"

The poor man seemed to be disraught, as his grey eyes became glassy with emotion. Kakashi frowned.

"I highly doubt that she would leave you behind," he said. "I know next to nothing about her, but she seems to love you quite a bit, and sounds like someone who is loyal to death. You both are in a rather upsetting situation, but I bet on Hoshi's arm guards that she will chose to stay with you. Hell, I bet on my teammate himself!"

Aragorn gave him an unsure look. "You truely believe so?" he asked, hope sneaking into his voice.

The Hatake nodded. " Ask any of the other shinobi. They will give you the same exact answer,"

A small smile appeared on the ranger's face as they both sat in a comfortable silence, gazing at the mountains. But something caught the masked chūnin's eye.

"Is that fire on the mountain?" he asked, pointing it out to his companion. Aragorn stood up, narrowing his eyes to get a better look. The grey orbs suddenly widened, and he immediately took off. Confused, Kakashi ran after him, up the stairs and through to doors into Meduseld.

"The Beacons of Minas Tirith!" cried Aragorn as he ran up to Thèoden and his advisors causing everyone present to look up. "The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid,"

As they waited with bated breath for the king's reply, Kakashi walked over to Minato-sensei and the other shinobi, who were sitting at a table with a peregrin falcon, reading a message.

_*"Hoshi's new summon,"*_ muttered Obito. _*"The message says that it would be a good idea for some of us to go south as soon as possible,"*_

Minato-sensei gently hushed his student, making the hall perfectly silent. Thèoden shot a small smile at the anxious Aragorn, who was almost on his tiptoes with impatience.

"And Rohan will answer," he declared, much to the ranger's apparent relief. "Muster the Rohirrim!"

With those words, Sensei turned to Susano'o and Kuro. "I want you two to fly down to Minas Tirith as soon as you pack your bags," the two nodded and immediately took off. Minato-sensei then turned to the rest of the students. "Go pack your bags, too. We will be out of here by midday,"

"Where are we going?" asked Anko, confused. Before Minato could say anything, Eowyn answered for him.

"We are headed to Dunharrow," she said warmly, while walking toward the stables. "The army is being mustered there,"

The kunoichi nodded and gave the White Lady a smile of gratitude. "Well, I'm off to pack," she declared to the male members of Team Minato. "See ya later!"

Kakashi nodded his goodbye, watching Obito scrawl something onto a piece of paper and tuck it into a colorfully embroidered pouch on the falcon's back. He let the raptor perch on his arm and carried it outside. The chūnin followed his teammate, curious.

_*"Fly swiftly, my friend,"*_ murmured the Uchiha, sending the bird off. _*"Tell my brother that help is on the way,"*_

Two pairs of dark eyes watched the summon until it was nothing more than a speck, hoping that its prescense ment that their teammate was safe.

* * *

><p>Rin was jolted out of her nightmare by a shriek that struck fear into her bones. She looked around the makeshift hospital. The spartan room was completely empty, save for the cots and a table of surgical instruments. Scared, the medic stood up from her stool and slowly walked to the doorway. Suddenly, a person skidded into the threshold, causing her to give a short scream. Rin nearly sighed in relief when she saw it was Hoshi, but his terrified expression kept her from feeling true relief. Her teammate looked horrible; the dark-haired boy sported several bleeding wounds on his face and chest and he was clearly exhausted. The shinobi grabbed her upper arm and proceeded to pull her out of the building.<p>

"Come, we have to get out of here," he said calmly, breaking into a run.

The brunette stumbled over her feet as she attempted to keep up with her rather panicked teammate. Despite the inconveniance, Rin was glad that Hoshi was dragging her along. Killing intent hung in the air, and the chill it created threatened to freeze her legs. Rangers and soldiers alike flooded to the edge of the city as more bloodcurdling crys rent the air.

"Faramir!" screamed Hoshi. A tall, dark blonde man turned around, a look of relief in his light eyes.

"Hoshi!" he cried as they approached him. "I was afraid that you were trapped with Susano'o,"

Confused, the medic turned to her companion. "Trapped with Susano'o?" she asked.

"I'll tell you later," he said quietly, before turning to the man. "Could Rin ride with you?" he asked.

Faramir nodded, lifting her onto the large horse before mounting it himself. A large group of the men were already riding across the plain, followed by a nightmare-invoking beast. Hoshi had disappeared, causing Rin to begin panic. Trying to swallow her fear, the medic decided to sate her curiosity.

"What is that...creature? The one with bat wings," she asked Faramir as they started to follow the last wave of the retreating garrison.

"A Fell Beast," he said shortly as it dove down toward them, along with two others, screaming as it went. Rin shrank against the horse as they snatched at the horses and riders around them. Another cry pierced the air, this one belonging to a falcon. She looked up, just in time to see a Fell Beast get thrown towards Osgiliath. Dark blood rained down upon them as a different beast was torn to shreads above their heads. But one beast was still attacking the retreating garrison, and wasn't likely to stop.

"The White Rider!" cried a soldier near them, prompting the petite brunette to lift her head. Much to her relief and delight, Gandalf-_jiisama_ was riding out to meet the creatures. He held his staff aloft, and a bright light shone from its head. The light drove the creature away, allowing the remaining men to get into the city. Only when the horse finally passed through the gates did Rin breath a sigh of relief.

"Mithrandir!" called Faramir, urging their mount towards the Wizard, who turned toward them. "They broke through our defenses. They took the bridge and the west bank. Battalions of orcs are crossing the river,"

"It is as the Lord Denethor predicted," declared a blond, important-looking man. "Long has he foreseen this doom,"

"Foreseen and done nothing!" grumbled Gandalf, clearly peeved. Pippin, who was sitting in front of the Istari, smiled at Rin.

"I see that you made it out alive," he said cheerfully. "Where are your companions?"

Right on cue, Hoshi dropped out of the sky and gracefully landed on the statue behind her. The medic looked back up at hI'm and grinned. _*__"Did you get to use Thousand Years of Death?"*_ she asked innocently. The elf-like boy blushed and quickly dropped down from his perch.

_*"Methinks Kublai tore them apart before I could do anything,"*_ he muttered, before giving Pippin a large grin. The halfling gave him an equally large smile, which was slightly tempered by Faramir's intense gaze on him.

"This isn't the first halfling to have crossed your path," murmured Gandalf, reading the man's stare.

Faramir nodded, causing the young hobbit's face to light up. "You've seen Frodo and Sam!" he cried with joy.

Rin turned to Hoshi, somewhat troubled. _*"Did we ever tell them that Minato saw them to Mordor's border?"*_ she said.

Her teammate ran his grimy fingers through his dark hair. _*"I don't think we told Gandalf"* _he said. _*"But Ad-Aragorn and Legolas know,"*_

"Is there something you are not telling me?" said the White wizard with a concerned look in his eyes.

Hoshi flushed pink, rubbing the tips of his ears with embarressment. "Minato-sensei encountered them in Osgiliath when Sam ended up throwing one of Sensei's knives that I gave him. Captain Faramir allowed Sensei to escort them to an entrance to Mordor on the back of a friendly Fell Beast. Minato-sensei made a _kage bunshin_ to take them so he could return back to us,"

The Istari turned to the Gondorian, who nodded in affirmation. "He is a good man. However, he was convinced to leave the Ringbearer and his companion at a passage of Cirith Ungol by their guide,"

"Oh no," whispered Gandalf, a vexed look on his wrinkled face.

"Wreched Smèagol!" Hoshi cursed venemously. "My you boil in Mount Doom!"

"Who's Smèagol?" asked Rin, utterly confused.

"And what so bad about this passage?" added Pippin, who looked as out of the loop as she was.

The White wizard exchanged a look with Faramir, before glancing at the the lanky shinobi. "I am sure your teammate here can enlighten you as we head up to the Citidal," said the Istari, urging Shadowfax forward. Hoshi nodded enthusiastically and walked in between the two horses, starting with his explanation when they entered the Second Circle.

"Smèagol was the owner of the Ring before Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's uncle. The Ring corrupted him both physically and mentally. He practically has two personalities; a dark one called Gollum and his original one, Smèagol. He still longs for his precious (his name for the Ring), and hopes to get it back by killing Frodo," The brunette could hear Pippin gasp in anger and horror upon hearing that. The grey-eyed boy continued with his explanation, ignoring the looks Gandalf_-jiisama_ and Faramir were giving him. "He won't succeed because of Sam, but Cirith Ungol is the perfect place to try. Smèagol will lead them into the lair of a giant spider named Shelob,"

"Is Shelob summon size?" Rin asked. She barely could supress a shudder of disgust when Hoshi nodded yes.

Pippin closed his eyes briefly. "So this Smèagol was Sam and Frodo's guide to Mordor, but after they get through Cirith Ungol, Smèagol won't be guiding them anymore," he concluded. "So how are they going to get to Mt. Doom?"

The tall shinobi shrugged as they entered the Citidal. He seemed ready to say something, but the thought was promptly forgotten. Hoshi's grey eyes shone with an inner light and he seemed to be more confident.

_"That's right,"_ thought Rin as she dismounted after Faramir. _"He's the prince of Gondor, so he was raised here,"_

"It's surreal to see the White Tree dead," he murmured as he approached it. "For all my life it was healthy,"

Faramir, who was watching the elf-like boy intently, seemed to relax at his words. The man chuckled slightly, apparently amused at his own thoughts.

"It seems there is yet some hope left in this darkness," he murmured.

Hoshi laughed, still gazing at the tree. "As long as Frodo perseveres, we may yet triumph," he replied.

Gandalf cleared his throat, urging the two to make their audiance with the Steward. Rapidly sombering, the two Gondorians headed into the hall.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you to shinbei21 for favoriting.**

**DreamingIn2Eternity: Thanks for the advice! I admit to having an unhealthy love for parentheses, and I believe that they were used correctly in this chapter.**

**Please review, maybe flame if you feel like it (but make the insults creative if you do, please). But thank you all for the support and on with the show!**

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><p>Denethor was livid. While the man himself had yet to go red in fury, his voice dripped with disbelief and contempt as he addressed his younger son.<p>

"You allowed a _child_ to command the garrison to abandon our defenses?" he just about whispered. Eldarion would have bristled at the comment, but the Steward spoke the truth about his age. He had just passed a decade of life, and was considered a child by everyone he had ever met; even by the short-lived shinobi. However, the barb was not directed toward his age, but poor Faramir's intelligence.

"The other captains accepted his judgement, which turned out to be wise," his son responded quietly.

The future prince flushed slightly with pride at Faramir's compliment. Wise was a characteristic of the aged and knowledgeable. Eldarion knew he was neither.

"What are you doing up here?" hissed a voice, causing the tall shinobi to jump slightly. He turned his head to see Rin, who had joined him on the upper level of the room. The dark-haired boy smiled gently at his teammate.

"I always used to sit here and listen to my father negotiate treaties, mediate feuds and pass judgement upon criminals. Nobody ever knew I was up here," he murmured.

The brunette looked intriged. "Did you learn a lot from watching him?" she asked.

The adopted Uchiha shrugged, wincing as the motion aggrivated some cuts on his chest. "It is too soon for me to tell," he murmured. The medic's brow furrowed, and she carefully took his shoulders to steer him in to face her.

"You are injured," she stated, displeased. "And your hair is a mess. You need to clean up and get your wounds treated,"

Eldarion rolled his eyes. "It can be done later," he murmured, half-listening to Denethor berate his younger son for having to courage to let the Ring go.

Rin chuckled, leaning against the stone bannister. "I never understood why you almost never bathed until we came here. But then your father is strangely grimy for this rather dirty world,"

"He cleans up nicely," he defended, slightly hurt by the kunoichi's observation.

"I never said he didn't," soothed Rin quietly. After Denethor dismissed Faramir in a fit of grief, Eldarion thought it wise to leave their spot.

"Hoshi," whispered his teammate as they walked through a maze of corridors. "Does the Steward have access to a palantír?"

The future prince was briefly distracted by a passing fruit basket, snatching an apple from the pile of fruits and ducking into a narrow hallway.

"There is a palantír hidden somewhere in the Tower of Ecthelion, but it is plausible that Denethor has been using it," he answered, taking a large bite of the apple.

"Ah, there you are,"

Eldarion looked up to see Faramir approaching them.

"Mithrandir would like for me to join you for tea at his house," he continued. "Apparently he would like some things to be discussed,"

The elf-like boy nodded, quickly falling behind the wizard's former pupil. Rin walked beside him, a bemused look on her face.

"What do you suppose Gandalf_-jiisama_ wants to talk about?" she asked quietly.

The dark-haired boy shrugged, swallowing before he answered. "I have no clue. I only hope that it has nothing to do with me,"

•/\/\/\/\/\|/\/\/\/\/\•

Pippin, despite having been to several gathering in which tea was drunk (he refused to call them tea parties), had never organized such a gathering. He knew that several snacks were served, (the more the better) along with the tea. But before the hobbit could make any solid plans, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Like any polite halfling, Pippin answered the door.

"Wow, Pip. You didn't even ask who is at the door,"

The hobbit frowned and smiled at Susano'o and Kuro, who were cheerfully standing outside. Shaking his head, he said:

"Well, you two are just in time to help me organize a gathering in which tea is drunk. So do come in,"

The two shinobi followed Pippin into the house, with rather bemused looks on their faces.

"So you are having a tea ceremony?" said the bandaged boy as they entered the kitchen.

The dark-haired hobbit nodded, causing the child to frown.

"Kuro, do you know how to organize a tea ceremony?" he asked.

The thick-lashed boy's brow furrowed. "Would it be _chaji_? Because I learned how to do at least three-fourths of that one. Who are the guests?"

The Took was slightly caught off guard. "Why Gandalf, Rin, Faramir, Hoshi, and now you two," he said, wondering why it mattered.

Kuro winced. "I think we might already have a breach in etiquette. Two people won't be able to participate,"

"A breach of etiquette!" cried Pippin, astounded. "In inviting too many people?"

"Why, yes," said Susano'o, a surprised look on his face. "There are supposed to be a maximum of five guests and one host. Now, do you have _matcha_?"

The utterly confused hobbit was saved from answering the question when Gandalf entered the kitchen with Faramir, Hoshi, and Rin in tow.

"Hoshi, Faramir-_taicho_! cried Susano'o, a look of relief on his face. "You survived!"

The pointy eared boy winced slightly, looking guilty. "Sorry for leaving you there. Are you okay?" he asked.

The bandaged boy waved him off. "The memory of being teared limb to limb is seared into my brain, but I am sure that I'll manage," he sniffed the dark-haired boy, recoiling to grab his nose. "You really need to a bath. You stink to the high heavens,"

Hoshi threw his hands into the air. "Where ever I go, I am told I stink! Fine, I'll take a stupid bath," The dirty, injured shinobi stormed out of the room. Rin sighed and tapped Kuro's shoulder.

"Could you go heal some of his wounds?" she murmured. "He has a few on his chest,"

The thick-lashed boy nodded, and followed the grimy boy's path out of the door. Susano'o turned to Pippin, a serious look on his face.

"I know I asked this before, but do you have _matcha_?"

"What in the name of the Shire is match-a?" responded the hobbit, bewildered. Laughter rang from another room within the house, and Rin was doing her best to stifle her own laughter. Both Gandalf and Faramir appeared to be very confused.

"Just what is so amusing?" asked the White wizard, seemingly frustrated at being left out of the loop.

The petite brunette managed to stifle her amusement and answer the Istari's question.

"These two dummies wanted to submit you to _chaji_, which is the shorter version of the tea ceremony," she explained. "There are a lot of rules to follow and it all has to be done in a certain way, down to the pouring of the tea itself. _Matcha _is the type of tea used in the ceremony,"

The dark blonde captain appeared to be rather interested by the concept. "Is this a common practice in your country?"

"Yes" The foreign girl sighed. "All girls and a few boys are taught it as part of their feminine education, along with calligraphy and flower arranging. I can arrange flowers and do calligraphy. But I cannot do _otemae,_" she grumbled, pulling out a kettle from a storage scroll. "My mother was quite upset, considering she teaches nobility to serve tea for a living,"

Susano'o's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, but instead of continuing on the current topic, he changed it. "So what is the reason we are having a gathering that involves the consumption of tea?'' he asked.

Faramir turned to Gandalf and then back to the bandaged shinobi. "We have to wait for your friends to finish up before we can start," he said cautiously.

"While we're waiting," said Rin, who was removing a box from a scroll. "I would like to know what type of tea you would like,"

By the time Kuro and Hoshi had returned to the kitchen, everyone was settled in a seat of some sort with a cup of tea. Pippin nursed a surprisingly spicy cup of _shōga _tea, which seemed to be a favorite as the brunette wordlessly handed the newcomers a cup. The pointy-eared boy sat in the last free chair while his companion joined his fellow shinobi on the floor. Gandalf waited for the two boys to settle before getting down to business.

"As much as I wish it so, the fact of the matter is that we are not here merely for the enjoyment of eachother's company. Hoshi, you know what is to occur in the coming days. Will you tell us what you know?"

The boy, who was currently swallowing a spoonful of honey, grimiced. "I am reluctant to tell you everything I know. However, you don't need to know everything," he said after gulping down a mouth-full of tea.

"Well, then what do we need to know?" asked the Steward's son, who had set aside his tea.

Hoshi had begun to fiddle with the strings of his doublet, which looked almost identical to Faramir's.

_"Ride to ruin, Faramir._

_Burn to death, Denethor._

_The path must be clear_

_For there to be a king once more."_ he murmured, shaking his head slightly at the end. Gandalf stared at the child, a stunned look on his face. Faramir, too, had become ashen.

"What is going to happen to me and my father?" he whispered.

Hoshi cursed before launching into an explanation. "Denethor has been using a palantír for some time, and has run into Sauron. Although he hasn't cleaved to the Lord of Mordor, he has begun to dispair and go mad. You will be sent along with the rest of the garrison to recapture Osgiliath. Only you will make it out, poisoned by a few arrows and looking quite dead. Of course, your father would bitterly regret it and seeing the host of Mordor upon the Pellenor, he would command for you to be cremated and then he would go after you," he said sorrowfully. "I am sorry for having placed you in this situation,"

The Gondorian seemed to lose his bones as he listened to the forecast of events. His expression became pained and his grey eyes glassy.

"But I am not dead," he said hoarsely. "I am not dead,"

"Pippin will know you aren't dead," he soothed. "He won't let you die, right Pip?"

Pippin, who was doing his best to squash the raising terror, nodded fiercely. "If Lord Denethor doesn't listen to reason, then Gandalf will make him see reason, right?" he said more eagerly than he felt.

The wizard absently nodded, his mind on a different topic. "What about the defenses?" he asked.

The lanky shinobi sighed. "You will have to take command, for the Steward is now beyond reason,"

The wizard nodded, while Kuro gave Hoshi a concerned look. "Is there any place we could evacuate the civilians to? On our way here we saw quite a few catapults will cause plenty of mayhem if we don't move the general populace elsewhere,"

His comrade grit his teeth, folding his hands in front of his face. "I know of several places to go, but I don't know if they currently exist," he said, frustrated.

Faramir, who had regained control over his emotions again, came to his fellow Gondorian's rescue.

"The underbelly of the city would have to suffice for the time being. But I don't know of a way to gather everyone there in such a short amount of time,"

The thick-lashed shinobi and his bandaged comrade turned to one another and smirked. Susano'o turned back to the Steward's son with a large smile on his face. "Could you describe several people in positions of power who could command the people to evacuate?"

‡*‡*‡*‡*‡

By the time the young Took had memorized his oath of service to the Steward and returned to the Citadel, the two shinobi had alerted the city and had given the civilians time to prepare. They wouldn't be going to their appointed places until later in the day, when Kuro, Susano'o, Rin and Hoshi had set up and organized the place. The hobbit sighed, feeling quite useless.

"What were you thinking, Peregrin Took?" he murmured as he sat on a bench in the throne room. "What service can a hobbit offer such a great Lord of Men?"

"It was well done. A generous deed should not be checked by cold counsel," Pippin lept off the bench to greet Faramir, who had just entered the hall. The man looked him over with a faint smile on his face. "You are to join the tower guard,"

The halfling nodded. "I didn't think that they'd find any liverly that'd fit me,"

"It once belonged to a young boy of the city," explained the tall man, with a nostalgic look in his eyes. "A foolish one who spent many hours slaying dragons instead of attending his studies,"

"This was yours?" he said, surprised.

Faramir nodded, adjusting the tunic. "Aye. My father had it made for me," he answered softly.

"Well, I'm taller than you were then," Pippin said proudly. "Though I'm not likely to grow anymore, except sideways,"

The two laughed at the comment, much to the Took's delight. The steward's son had clearly been thinking too much about Hoshi's prediction and it was weighing him down. What the man needed was a good pint of ale, and a rousing song. Faramir was about to make another comment when Lord Denethor's voice rang throughout the hall.

"Since when does a son not introduce his father to their guests?" declared the Steward in a mocking tone. "Come, Faramir, and introduce me,"

Pippin turned to see Hoshi, Susano'o and Kuro standing in front of Lord Denethor's seat, looking incredibly uncomfortable. Rin was with Gandalf and being introduced to the Warden of the Houses of Healing at the moment and thus was not present. Before Faramir could even move, Kuro stepped forward.

"I am Uchiha Kuro, my lord," he said, bowing quite deeply.

His bandaged companion rolled his eyes and stepped forward as well. "I am Oto Susano'o," he said, not bowing as deeply as his friend.

The last shinobi shot an apologetic look at Faramir before placing a hand upon his breast and bowing slightly.

"And I am Uchiha Hoshi, my lord. I would like to apologize for my cousin's impatiance,"

"Indeed," mumured Lord Denethor, who shot a weithering look at his son before turning his attention to the three boys. "What brings three children to a country at war?"

Kuro grinned. "My adoptive little cousin wanted to find the place where he came from and we ended up here. We are considered warriors in our own right, so our leader allowed us to go on this little vacation. I really didn't think that we would end up in a country at war,"

"Which is why," continued Susano'o. "That we offer our services to you if you should need it,"

The steward chuckled, entertained by their antics. "How kind of you to offer," he said with a half-grin. "But I am content,"

The shinobi inclined their heads, clearly not offended by the rejection. In fact, Hoshi looked relieved.

"There will be a new member of the Tower Guard," declared Lord Denethor to the few, dark-robed nobles who hung around the door. "Peregrin Took, will you step forward?"

Mustering his courage, the hobbit walked to his place and knelt before the Steward.

•/|/•

Eldarion listened as Pippin swore his loyalty to Denethor. His grey eyes scanned Faramir's face, which was set in a emotionless cast. Guilt flooded through his veins, because he had unknowingly hurt the already suffering man.

_"If I had saved Boromir, would things have changed for the better?"_ he thought darkly.

"And I shall not forget it!" declared Denethor as he cheerfully accepted the hobbit's oath. "Nor fail to that which is given," the Steward offered his ring, which Pippin kissed. In the corner of his eye, Eldarion saw Kuro make a face.

"Fealty with love," he continued, walking over to a table set with food. "Valour with honor. Disloyalty with vengeance," The older man glared at his son, who was quietly standing off to the side. "I do not think we should lightly abandon the outer defenses. Defenses that your brother had long held intact,"

"What would you have me do?" Faramir said tonelessly.

"I will not yield the river and the Pellenor unfought. Osgiliath must be retaken," commanded Denethor.

"But that's suicide!" cried Susano'o, horrifed. Eldarion elbowed him, putting a finger to his lips when the irate boy glared at him.

_*"You are going to allow this to happen?"*_ snarled the bandaged boy.

_*"A-Aragorn must become King,"*_ he whispered. *_"Faramir will be just fine,"*_

_*"I don't think that you believe that he will be okay,"*_ accused the copper-skinned shinobi. _*"But you are too scared to do anything,"*_

The elf-like boy was taken aback. He bit his lip as he watched Denethor bully his son into making an assault on the overrun city. Susano'o volunteered to join the attack, glaring at him the entire time.

_*"Coward!"*_ he spat, following Faramir out the door.

Eldarion stared at the floor, feeling horrible. Kuro walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I have to go meet Rin at the houses of healing," he murmured. "Keep Pip company,"

The Uchiha shunshin-ed out of of the Citadel, leaving the despondant and guilt-ridden shinobi behind with a man who's sanity was questionable and a hobbit. The tall shinobi leaned against a black pillar and sank to the ground, having lost all his strenght.

_"__The city cries, but it hides its tears,"_ he whispered, reverting to a language that had always brought him comfort. He pulled out a battered flute, and started to play a piece of a short tune. _"Dispair, what a fitting name for such a sad melody,"_

Denethor did not silence him, but he did not aknowledge him either when he finished. Instead, the Steward turned to Pippin, who was sitting on a stool a ways from the table.

"Can you sing Master Hobbit?" he asked gruffly.

The young halfling appeared to be startled by the question. "Well, yes," he answered softly. "At least well enough for my own people. But we have no songs for great halls and evil times,"

"And why should your songs be unfit for my halls?" responded the Steward, ignoring the hobbit's last comment. "Come, sing me a song,"

Reluctantly, Pippin started to sing.

_"Home is behind, The world ahead._

_And there are many paths to tread, _

_Through shadow, _

_to the edge of night._

_Until the stars are all alight._

_Mist and shadow_

_cloud and shade,_

_All shall fade,_

_All shall..._

_Fade,"_

Overcome with emotion, Eldarion burst into tears and began to weep softly into his folded arms.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! **

**I really don't know if you all are finding this story mediocre or not. But reviewing certainly helps with minor improvements. So please do it if possible.**

**Thank you all for the support and on with the show!**

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><p>Obito's thoughts were scattered as they entered Dunharrow. He was surprised to see so many white tents all neatly lined up on the flat field in the shadow of a tall mountain. The wargs he, Anko and Kakashi rode drew looks of fear and amazement from the Rohirrim, who were reporting on their numbers to the king. Susano'o's clone's memories had returned mid-morning, before he and Kuro set out to Minas Tirith, sending the bandaged boy into a nightmare-riddled coma. He had refused to say what had happened to his clone, only that Hoshi was safe. Still, the Uchiha worried for his brother.<p>

_"What if he has a fit, or gets seriously injured?"_ he fretted. _"Or if he accidently angers the wrong person and gets his stupid head chopped off?"_

"We have to ride up that?"

Anko's incredulous cry brought Obito back to his current setting. They were at the base of a very steep slope, and their camp was a good ways up the mountian. The road up had many swichbacks, and didn't look very safe. Kakashi sighed, urging Rocky to trot behind Aragorn. *_"Stop being such a scardy cat, Anko. The horses are ascending just fine, so Cookie shouldn't have a problem,"*_ he snapped, reverting back to their native language.

Obito quickly followed his teammate, who looked quite annoyed. The kunoichi did not seem to be swayed by the masked shinobi's words.

"Yeah, but accidents happen," she yelled back at him, not bothering to respond in kind. "Besides, I'm scared of heights,"

The Uchiha had to stifle his laughter upon hearing the violet-haired daredevil's excuse. Mitarashi Anko, afraid of heights? It was more likely for Hoshi to throw caution and dignity into the wind and live for once! But their problem was solved by Cookie fearlessly galloping up the incline after the last of the horses, much to the kunoichi's chagrin.

_*"Oi! What are you doing you stupid mutt! Stop it, stop-ayeYiii!"*_

Hideous piebald hound had bounded up to the edge of a swichback and had stopped short, nearly throwing the clearly terrified Anko over the edge. Obito cracked at the sight and began to choak with laughter as he watched his fellow villager compose herself after nearly being tossed. He felt slightly guilty because the fall would have hurt quite a bit, but half of the situation's hilarity lay in the fact that the drop was practically non-existant. Anko shot a venemous glare up at him, causing him to shut up immediately.

_*"As soon as I get up there I am going to set Cookie on your ass,"*_ she growled, oozing killer intent. The short-haired Uchiha had no qualms in hiding behind Kakashi for the rest of the climb up. When they reached the encampment, the students had no trouble finding Minato-sensei after they settled their wargs in a rather isolated corner with a generous tether, a couple half dead rabbits and tub of water. The yellow-haired man was standing at the edge of the cliff with Aragorn and Thèoden, discussing the number of soldiers present. Obito strolled over to his Sensei, half out of curiosity and half out of protection from Anko.

"Six thousand spears," responded the king to a question from Aragorn. "Less than half of what I had hoped for,"

The Uchiha's eyes widened in surprise and Minato-sensei whistled apprecitavely. "That is still quite the number," he said cheerfully.

Aragorn, however, did not look very pleased. "Six thousand will not be enough to break the lines of Mordor," he murmured.

That comment worried Obito. Six thousand was already a huge number, so what did Sauron have in terms of the size of his host?

Minato-sensei didn't seemed phased. "We should be fine," he said flippantly, waving his hand. "Gamabunta should be equal to roughly a hundred of your men,"

The goggles-wearer groaned and hit his face against the palm of his hand. "Sensei, there's no need to summon the toad boss,"

"If this Gama-bunta is a help, then by all means summon him," said Thèoden, who was not wearing a lost look like Aragorn was. The blonde man then addressed the befuddled ranger. "More men will come," he declared.

The tall man sighed, casting off his confusion in favor of morose pragmatism. "Every hour lost hastens Gondor's defeat," he said. "We have until dawn, then we must ride,"

Minato-sensei gave Aragorn a huge smile. "Excellent!" he cried, clapping the ranger on his shoulder. "The Lord of More-doors won't know what hit him!"

As Obito watched his Sensei walk off, he got the sense that something was off with the yellow-haired man. In fact, everything about this place was off. The horses kept spooking and the Rohirrim looked quite nervous. The black-haired boy looked up at the grandfatherly king, who was scanning the camp along with Aragorn.

"Is this place haunted?" he asked. When the question slipped out of his lips the Uchiha wondered why he thought the place was haunted.

"You are quite perceptive," remarked Thèoden. "The entrance to the Dimholt, or the door under the mountain, is at that cleft in the rock. It is said that a cursed army dwells there,"

Obito felt his blood drain. _"Cursed?"_ he thought, feeling compelled to follow the grey-eyed ranger to get a better look at the entrance. The tall man was peering down the rocky corridor, an apprehensive look on his face. Curious, the genin decided to follow Aragorn's gaze to figure out what held the man's interest.

The Uchiha was unable to bite back a yelp when he saw green, rotting _thing_ beckoning the tall ranger. His cry caused Aragorn to jump, along with Gimli, who was standing behind him.

"Goodness, laddie!" cried the dwarf. "What was that about?"

Obito looked down the path again, but the space was empty.

"Nothing," he said, embarressed. "Just my imagination,"

Both Middle Earthlings raised an eyebrow, but let the matter drop.

"Let's find some food," proposed Gimli, causing Obito to grin and follow the dwarf into the maze of white tents.

* * *

><p>Kakashi had somehow ended up having dinner with Eomer and Thèoden's assistant Gamling, and Anko had joined them sometime in the middle. The Hatake sighed, his eyes fixated on the campfire he sat in front of.<p>

_"So I guess this is it. The battle that will either completely crush us or allow us to fight another day. I believe that I have a pair of arm guards I have yet to wear, and I might have to dig out my father's tantō,"_

The chūnin was broken out of his musings when Merry exited the tent, decked out in Rohirric armor and quite skillfully whielding a strange sword.

_"Why on Middle Earth does Merry have a chakra-filled sword?" _he wondered, sensing life energy ooze from the blunt-looking blade. Anko seemed to notice it too, because she shot him a look but said nothing.

"To the smithy, go!" cried Eowyn, who was urging the hobbit off, presumably to get his sword sharpened.

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at the halfling's antics. Eomer, however, seemed to be less than pleased about the whole thing.

"You should not encourage him," he said while eating a strange meat. The blonde man's sister gave him an icy look.

"You should not doubt him," she responded coldly.

"I do not doubt him," defended Eomer. "Only the reach of his arm,"

Gambling and Anko chuckled at the joke, but Kakashi was a little less amused by the point he feared the horselord was going to make.

"Sometimes the smallest creatures can be the mightiest killers," he murmured. "Something so small that even an insect cannot see it can wipe out entire countries. Hoshi calls it Plague, but we call it bacteria,"

Anko snorted at him. "I think we can leave disease out of this, Scarecrow. The point of the matter is that Merri is inexperienced, and will probably run from a fight,"

Kakashi glared at the kunoichi. "He and Pippin tackled a cave troll and helped defeat Saruman. You call that inexperianced?"

"No, that's not it," snapped Anko. "It's foolish to run into battle without an idea of what is awaiting you. I don't think that Merri-san is prepared for what awaits him on the battlefield,"

Eomer raised an eyebrow at the brown-eyed girl. "You have been in a battle?" he asked, a sceptical look on his face.

The Snake Sannin's student shook her head. "No, but I've been on what the elite forces call "Reaper Rounds", which involves collecting bodies, patching up or killing the wounded and dealing with the captured enemies at the aftermath of a battle," she murmured. "I've gotten nightmares about the dead coming after me to avenge themselves," she ended with a shudder.

A chilling breeze swept, through the camp, causing the young chūnin to shiver slightly. Hairs rose on the back of his neck as sensed a strange prescense.

"Don't you have the feeling that you are being watched?" he said, looking up and around at the mountain.

"I wouldn't be surprised," said a spooky voice directly behind him. "I was told that an army of cursed men live with the mountain,"

Half out of instinct, half out of fear, Kakashi elbowed whoever was behind him in the gut, hard. The resulting gasp and string of curses caused him to relax. Eomer looked highly amused.

"Were you ever told that it is not polite to sneak up on someone?" said the Rohir with a crooked grin. The masked shinobi looked behind him to see Obito cluching his stomach and grinning at the blonde man's remark.

"As a matter of fact," wheezed the Uchiha, pulling himself upright. "Adults tend to encourage it," The black-haired boy turned to his two peers. "Minato-sensei wants you both to turn in now," he said shortly.

Anko groaned. "But the sun just set an hour ago," she whined. Kakashi merely shrugged and stood up, bowing slightly to Eomer and Eowyn.

"Thank you for your hospitality," he said the the siblings, before turning to the kunoichi. "Come, Anko. I doubt we will get much rest tonight, and there is no use in being dead on our feet in the morning,"

The Snake Sannin's student rolled her brown eyes, but pulled herself off the ground without much fuss. "Goodnight, you all," she said. "See you at dawn,"

The Rohirrim inclined their heads slightly in farewell as the three young foreigners walked off to their tent.

* * *

><p>Minato shivered slightly, gladly gathering the camouflaging cloak around him. The shinobi had no desire to sleep, due to the feeling that he was not going to wake up from such a rest. The yellow-haired jōnin was leery of the mountain ever since he set his eyes upon it. The whole camp stank of death, and he could practically feel the spirits floating around. In fact, the wind felt an awful lot like little hands...<p>

_"No! Don't think about ghosts! Maybe it was a tengu. A horrible, madness inducing-No, No! Definatly not a tengu!" _The Yellow Flash squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to repress a flood of fear-inducing thoughts. Being outside of his safe tent in a strange, dark, and certainly haunted area was not helping him in the slightest.

_"Didn't Hoshi say that ghosts and yōkai didn't exist here?"_ he thought miserably, deciding to put words into his student's mouth to calm his strained nerves. Minato's ears pricked as they caught the hushed sound of feet crunching gravel beneith them.

"Me-naa-to?" whispered a lilting voice

Despite the warning, the jōnin still jumped when he heard his name called. Springing to his feet, the yellow-haired sensei whirled around to see a glowing elf. He blinked in surprise when he saw another, which looked exactly like the other. The two male elves had pale skin, deep brown hair, unnerving grey eyes, and if it weren't for their pointed ears, clothes and the presense of pupils Minato would have mistaken them for another pair of Hyūga twins.

"Can I help you?" he said, cautious. He knew that elves didn't live in Rohan, putting him on his guard.

"We are friends of Aragorn," said one elf.

"He would like to see you, if possible," finished the other.

Still wary, the jōnin nodded slightly. "Please take me to him,"

The two ethreal creatures beckonded with their chin for the yellow-haired man to follow them. As Minato trailed the two through the maze of white tents, a troubling thought hit him.

_"What if they are yōkai, but just a new species we haven't heard of? Or just a pair of crafty _Onryō_?"_

Before the increasingly terrified shinobi could make a break for it, the pair stopped in front of a large tent and gestured for him to go in. Keeping his tired face emotionless, the jōnin walked in. Within the well furnished space stood Aragorn and another, older elf, who was definatly related to the younger two who stood outside.

"Ah, Minato," said Aragorn. "This is Elrond, Lord of Rivendell,"

The introduced elf inclined his head slightly, and the yellow-haired shinobi bowed in return.

"So this is the leader of the elusive shinobi?" said Elrond_-sama_ with a half-smile on his face. "It is a pleasure to meet you,"

Minato gave the dark-haired elf a sheepish smile, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess that I am, but only as third-in-command,"

Elrond-_sama_ raised an eyebrow in interest, but declined to persue the matter. "According to Estel," he gestured to the ranger, who looked a tad embarressed. "You believe that six thousand men would be enough to support Gondor. But that is not enough. A fleet of Corsair ships sails from the South and they will be in the city in less than two days,"

The jōnin's blue eyes widened. _"How stupid of me to allow Kuro to go off with the palantír! And none of the radios are working either!"_ he thought. "We need to warn them," he said aloud.

"Warning them wouldn't do any good," argued the elf lord. "Everyone will have their hands full dealing with Sauron's main force,"

"What about Orochimaru?" Aragorn proposed. "Do you think he could help?"

Minato shook his spiky, yellow head. "I am not keen on sending any of my summons into More-doors just to deliver a message that might never be given,"

Both the ranger and Elrond-_sama _looked horrified. Two identical heads popped into the tent.

"Who is in Mordor?" they asked in unison, startling the jōnin badly.

"By the Byakugan!" he swore, doing a double take. Both Aragorn and Elrond-_sama _chuckled in amusement. "Not to be rude, but who are you?"

"Forgive us for neglecting to introduce ourselves," one elf, clad in dark grey stepped fully into the tent. "I am Elladan,'

"And I am Elrohir," introduced the other, clad in light grey. "We are Elrond's son's and Estel's brothers," the finished in unison.

Minato looked over to Aragorn, who was looking slightly uncomfortable. "I am guessing that you were taken in by Elrond-_sama _at a young age and dubbed "Estel" for one reason or another," he said cheerfully.

The tall man nodded affirmatively. "You guessed correctly, but let us try to stay on topic. I am going to assume that Orochimaru is just fine or dead and in either case cannot help us. The fact remains that we cannot take on this threat with our current number of men. Fortunately, there is an army that dwells in the mountains which owes its allegiance to me,"

The Yellow Flash could feel his mind begin to shut down. "You command an army of cursed men?" he cried, interrupting the man.

Aragorn sighed. "I would like for you to join me in recruiting them," he finished tiredly.

"I thought you already had their allegiance?" The jōnin declared, baffled. Elrond_-sama _promptly hushed him.

"Estel simply needs your help in convincing them to join us, which they eventually will,"

Minato blinked. "I am not a very convincing person," he said, confused. "So why do you need me?"

"Lady Galadriel learned from your snake-like friend that you have a knack for dealing with demons," explained the elf lord. "Cursed men shouldn't be to difficult for you,"

The yellow-haired teacher stifled a sigh and made a mental note to kill Orochimaru on a later date.

"So when are we leaving?" he asked.

†*†*†*†*†

Minato stood by Aragorn as he readied his horse.

"I am not sure why you need to bring an easily spooked creature into a haunted mountain," he commented, shifting his backpack on his shoulders.

"Riding a horse is faster than walking and conserves energy," returned the ranger, who wore a morose look on his face. The tall man's expression piqued the jōnin's curiosity to the point that he had to meddle.

"Why the long face?" he said, prompting Aragorn to give him a look. "What is making you so depressed?" he explained. "It is not as if we are running off to our death,"

The grey-eyed man was silent for a bit as he placed the saddlebags on his horse. "Somehow, Sauron has sickened the one I hold dear. If he is not brought down soon, she will die,"

"Ah," murmured the yellow-haired shinobi, sympathetic. Aragorn looked up at him, concern flicking across the tall man's pale face.

"I sense fear from you," he said, his brow furrowing. "Are you alright?"

"What? I am just fine!" declared Minato, taken aback. "I simply have no love for ghosts,"

The ranger shot him a disbelieving look but did not comment as he put a bridle on the steed.

"Are your brothers coming with us?" asked the jōnin, who wanted to assess the number of people who were joining them.

"No," Aragron answered. "They are going to return to Rivendell with Lord Elrond. The roads are dangerous and it is folly to travel alone,"

As the ranger was double checking the saddle, Minato noticed Eowyn walking toward them.

"Why are you doing this?" she cried in a hushed tone, ignoring the shinobi completely. "The war lies to the East. You cannot leave on the eve of battle. You cannot abandon the men,"

The jōnin-sensei noted how infatuation colored her voice and a fear of abandonment shone in her icy eyes.

_"Poor Eowyn," _he thought_. "Her heart is going to get broken,"_

"Eowyn," Aragorn started, trying to calm her down.

"The men need you here," she pleaded. The yellow-haired shinobi could practically hear her plea of _"I need you,"_

After a moment of thought, the tall, dark-haired man turned to her. "Why have you come?" he asked.

The blonde princess looked slightly surprised. "Do you not know?" she said quietly.

The ranger gave her a sympathetic look before breaking it to her. "It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot give you what you seek,"

The words seemed to physically strike her as she backed away, into Minato. A blush rose in her cheeks and the jōnin could see her holding back tears.

"Sorry," she whispered. The jōnin shook his head slightly.

"Don't bother yourself over this," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, pretending Aragorn wasn't there. "There are plenty of trees in the forest, as we say back at home. He means you well, but he is already taken,"

Eowyn nodded, tears falling down her face. The White Lady looked back at the ranger, who gave her an apologetic look.

"We'll see you in battle," the jōnin murmured, walking toward the entrance to the Dimhold. Aragorn followed after shooting a look back at the heartbroken shieldmaiden.

"Pleanty of trees in the forest?" he said with a raised eyebrow as they walked through the camp.

The yellow-haired shinobi rubbed the back of his neck. "Breakups and rejections are quite common back at home," he explained.

The two continued along in silence until a gruff voice interrupted them.

"Just where do you think you're off to?" queried Gimli, who was sitting outside a tent with Obito.

"Yeah, were you both just going to up and leave without a note?" added the Uchiha.

Minato blinked in surprise. "What are you doing up, Obito?"

"Anko put a whole bunch of unmentionalby gross stuff in my sleeping bag," grumbled the student. "But where are you going?"

"Where Gimli is not supposed to follow," answered Aragorn, giving the dwarf a look.

"Have you learned nothing of the stubborness of dwarves?" said Legolas, who had joined them, leading his white horse.

"You might as well accept it," finalized Gimli. "We're going with you, laddie,"

The ranger smiled, clearly glad that they decided to join him. Obito gave the yellow-haired sensei a pleading look.

"Can I join you?" he asked.

Minato raised a sun-colored eyebrow. "Do you want to meet a cursed army?"

The Uchiha's eyes widened. "Have fun in _yomi_!" he cried, before taking off into the camp.

Legolas watched the boy go. "What is yo-me and why did it upset him so?" he asked as they started to walk again.

The jōnin sighed. "_Yomi_ is the place where our people believe the dead live. It is not very pleasant,"

Finally reaching the area where the others could mount their horses, Aragorn looked into the path they were to take. "I think your student has given this place an accurate discription," he murmured.

With a shudder, Minato followed the ranger and his friends into the Dimholt.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:**

**Thank you WolfDemon1000, DreamingIn2Eternity, e7cg13, and Ice Vixen X for reviewing! Also thank you Thrae Elddim for putting this story on your alerts. **

**WolfDemon1000= I am happy that this story was a pickup for you. Finals for me are fast approaching, much to my dismay.**

**DreamingIn2Eternity = Thanks! Oops, but thank you for your advice and correction! **

**e7cg13=I am personally looking forward to said chapter myself. Gamabunta is one of my favorite summons. :)**

**Ice Vixen X= Thanks! I know fears cannot be inherited, but this is something I can see Minato being afriad of.**

**Thank you all for the support and on with the show!**

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

The brilliant stars were covered that night by Mordor's shadow, making the sky seem closer to the earth. Eldarion looked out the top of the Tower of Ecthelion, feeling that he could grasp the sky if he simply had the will to reach out his hand. Instead, the elf-like boy cluched his mother's pendent, gifted to him by his father.

_"Naneth is sick,"_ he whispered. The future prince always had a close connection with his mother, which seemed to carry over to the current time, despite the fact he hadn't been conceived yet. Eldarion chuckled slightly.

_"Arien, dear sister, will know you first,"_ he thought, his good humor falling slightly. _"And Ada will know her best,"_

The adopted Uchiha shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. _"Faramir is not back yet,"_ he pondered. _"I know for a fact that he will live; definately if Susano'o is with him,"_

The grey-eyed child winced as he recalled the bandaged shinobi's harsh words. His accusations cut deeply, mostly because they were sharpened with truth.

"Once a coward, always a coward," he muttered bitterly. "Nothing more than a terrified kitten,"

While he was wallowing in angst and self-pity, the usually sharp-eared genin missed the clicking footfalls on the tower's stone steps.

"What are you doing in an area reserved for the Stewards only?" snapped a commanding voice.

Eldarion jumped from his seated position, whirling around to see Denethor, who was hiding a surprised look in his cold, grey eyes.

"I beg your pardon, my Lord," he said hastily. "I did not realize that this area was off limits,"

Indeed, the pointy-eared boy was very confused. For the entirety of his existance, the top of the Tower of Ecthelion was accessible to him and had quickly became his place of refuge.

"I would forgive such a trespass if it were not for the fact that you knew the password to the tower," the Steward said sharply. "While I am inclined to believe that your "cousin" speaks the truth of the reason as to why you all are here, Faramir has informed me of some disturbing behaviour of yours,"

Minato's student blanched. "Just what did he say to you?" he asked cautiously as Denethor moved closer to him.

"Nothing of great importance," said the man airily. "Just that you told him that there is a King of Gondor and he is the Steward,"

Eldarion relaxed. _"Truly nothing of great importance then," _he thought, relieved.

"And," he continued. "I had burned to death while cluching this,"

The adopted Uchiha's eyes widened as Denethor uncovered a palantír; A _working _palantír.

"Sweet Eru," he murmured. "That's why the tower was heavily guarded,"

"You are not from this age," concluded the stony Steward. "You are the son of the King who is returning to claim his throne,"

The grey-eyed boy's eyes narrowed at the older lord as he spat out the last part. "Is that a problem?" he challenged.

To Eldarion's surprise, the man chuckled. "If it weren't for the fact that you knew the password and were ignorant of the working palantír, I would have figured that you are Aragorn, son of Arathorn's bastard,"

The future prince's fists clenched and his ears burned with surpressed anger. "A billygoat would be able to guess that password," he grumbled, seething over the implied insult to his mother.

Denethor looked quite disappointed. "Come now, Borormir thought it was quite brilliant in its simplicity,"

Eldarion raised a dark eyebrow. _"Open walnut?"_ he said scathingly.

"It was Faramir who suggested it, not I," the Steward said quietly, caressing the seeing stone. "He could be so like his mother at times,"

His pointed ears pricked upon hearing the grief in the lord's voice. The grey-eyed boy moved closer to Denethor, keeping the palantír and its pedastel between them.

"She died when Faramir was but four years of age," he whispered hoarsely. "Boromir was my son, but Faramir was hers,"

The older man did not seem to look at the marbled sphere, but rather through it. Eldarion's eyes widened when he discerned the pictures within it. Susano'o was tending to the unconscience captain within a mound of corpses. One living horse lay down beside them, with Faramir's foot caught in its saddle's stirrup. A small pile of shattered black arrows sat off to Susano'o's side as he stitched the man's wounds shut. Faramir's face was deathly pale, and the bandaged shinobi's skin was drained of most of its color. The copper-skinned boy's lips moved soundlessly, most likely in complaint. But his eyes shone with fear, contidicting his assuredly arrogant grousing. Eldarion's brow furrowed with worry for his comrades and irritation that the palantír did not transmit sound. But before he could do anymore looking, Denethor covered the sphere.

"Go," he commanded, his broken voice still filled with steel. "Prepare for the coming battle. My end is nigh and I can do nothing more to protect this city,"

The elf-like boy looked up, and was stunned to find tears flowing down the Steward's face.

"Save Minas Tirith from my despair," he croaked. "Go, Son of Aragorn!"

Bowing slightly to Denethor, Eldarion left the grieving man behind and exited the tower through a hidden staircase. It was only when he reached the bottom of the stairs that he realized that he had been running. The wavy-haired child inhaled deeply, calming himself down. As he entered the courtyard of the dead White tree, the adopted Uchiha noticed a faint glow on the horizon. Eldarion's lips twiched with a sardonic smirk.

_"It's a pity that I'll be going into battle sleep-deprived,"_ he thought, disappearing into the dark morning.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Aragorn managed to stifle a yawn as they traveled along the Dimholt Road. He had not slept well that night, having been deprived of most of the time to sleep. The ranger briefly thought of Kakashi's conviction about Arwen's choice, and how the young foreigner who had never met his beloved had more faith in her loyalty than he did. The Dunedain sqeezed his eyes shut at the morning light. The sun was exceptionally bright on the sharp, pale grey rocks surrounding them and the little vegetation that grew in the gravelly soil was tough and spiny. The air around them was cold and still, and, besides the horses, the travelers had not encountered a single animal. Minato's eyes were constantly shifting, and he wore a tense look on his pale face as he walked between himself and Legolas.

"What kind of army would linger in such a place?" asked Gimli as he looked around at the jagged canyon walls.

"One that is cursed," answered the blonde archer. "Long ago the men of the mountains swore an oath to Isildur to come to his aid, to fight. But when the time came, when Gondor's need was dire, they fled, vanishing into the darkness of the mountain. And so he cursed them, never to rest until they had fulfilled their pledge," Aragorn swore he heard a fearful squeak come from behind him, but he did not bother to find out who it was.

"Who shall call them from the grey twilight, the forgotten people?" Legolas recited ominously. "The heir of him to whom the oath they swore. From the North shall he come, need shall drive him. He shall pass the door to the Paths of the Dead,"

Silence passed heavily as they continued onward until Minato abruptly broke it.

"So, uh, Aragorn-_sama_," the shinobi started hesitantly. "You wouldn't happen to be able to, well, er, curse people?"

The ranger gave the normally sunny man a look. "There is no need to refer to me as 'lord', and I could not curse you even if I wanted to," he said, his tone slightly sharp.

The tall man did not miss the look of relief that briefly crossed his face before understanding gleamed in his eyes.

"That's why they fear him!" he cried.

"Who fears whom, laddie?" asked Gimli, confused. Minato waved off the question.

"I am not sure if I have reached the correct conclusion, but even if I did, I do not think that you would understand,"

"What is there not to understand?" the dwarf grumbled, but he did not put up a fuss.

Aragorn sighed and shook his head slightly. _"Gandalf's answers are clearer than theirs."_ he thought irritably. _"At least he had a reason for keeping his responses vague," _

The ranger urged his horse up the path, dodging a tree branch as they climbed the path. Minato looked increasingly anxious, and was constantly rubbing a scroll between his palms. The bright light of the canyon gave way to the shade of needleless pines and narrower walls. Dismounting, Aragorn led his horse into the dim path, with Gimli and Legolas quickly following him. Noiselessly, they approached a rough-hewn door, whose threshold was decorated with pictoglyphs and its sides lines with skulls.

"The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away," whispered the red-haired dwarf. The yellow-haired shinobi nodded, gulping slightly when they reached the door. Peering above the door, Legolas read the warning aloud.

"The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead and the dead keep it. The way is shut,"

With the sound of a dull roar, a blast of cold air and dust issued from the entrance, spooking the horses. Yanking its reins from from the Dunedain's hand, the terrified animal fled from the spot.

"Brego!" he cried after his mount, briefly chasing after it, for was carrying all of his things, including the scabbard to Anduíl.

"Don't worry," said Minato in a falsely cheery voice. "I have everything in this scroll,"

The mountain seemed to inhale, pulling their bodies toward the entrance for a moment before more dust was belched into their faces. The smell of decay hung thickly in the air. Mustering his courage, Aragorn turned to face the blasted door.

"I do not fear death!" he declared, plunging into the paths of the dead.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Obito stood next to his eating warg as the Rohirrim proceeded to break camp. He kept readjusting his goggles as men and horses ran around him, putting out fires and carrying weapons. Kakashi leaned on Rocky next to him, sporting a new pair of arm guards and a tantō that he never used. Cookie was sniffing at the edge of the tent that they were guarding. The Hatake was impatiently tapping his toe, finally releasing an exasperated sigh.

"C'mon Anko! Ice princess should be ready by now!" he cried.

"We're out, god!" she snapped, stepping out of the tent with a completely armored Eowyn. The kunoichi wore a padded leather trenchcoat and a pair of shin guards in addition to her standard burgundy T-shirt, khaki shorts, knee-high fishnet mail, and black sandals. "I had to go over a few pointers, 'cause she has never been in battle before,"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "You have never in a battle before, either," he pointed out.

Anko punched him in the arm. "I'm more experienced then she is. The Rohirrim must be getting pretty desperate if they are sending such greenhorns out,"

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," snapped Eowyn icily from her horse. "Let's go get Merry,"

The shinobi nodded, mounting their packed wargs and following the princess. They quickly found the hobbit, who standing forlonely with his back toward them. The Ice princess skillfully pulled Merry onto her horse without slowing down, impressing Obito. As soon as the halfling was safely seated in front of Eowyn, Obito urged his mount to fall back behind the pricess' horse. Kakashi took his place in the front, while Anko rode alongside her.

"So just how long is the ride?" Obito wondered aloud.

"A day and a half," answered Eowyn cooly. All three shinobi made a sound of shock.

"Why the hell does everything take so long to get to around here?" moaned Anko.

Eowyn and Merry simply laughed.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Minato had been in many caves before, but this one had to be the worst. Aragorn had been fortunate enough to find a torch, because the yellow-haired shinobi's now beloved flashlight decided to die on him. But in spite of the warm firelight, the tunnel still glowed green. The ranger briefly looked into a side path, paved with skulls, before moving on, his sword aloft. Legolas, however, had lingered briefly, looking into the tunnel alongside the jōnin. Green forms danced in front of Minato's blue eyes, chilling his skin. Gimli appeared to be as nervous as he.

"What is it?" the dwarf asked the blonde archer. "What do you see?"

"I see shapes of men and of horses," he answered slowly.

The Yellow Flash whirled around, the greenish appirations maddingly elusive. "Where?" he demanded, his eyes darting around.

"Pale banners like shreds of cloud," the elf answered poetically, following Aragorn. "Spears rise like winter thickets through a shroud of mist. The dead are following. They have been summoned,"

"The dead?" whispered Gimli.

"Summoned?" squeaked Minato.

"I knew that," they finished in unison. The shinobi and dwarf made eye contact and nearly broke down laughing until they realized that they were left alone.

"Legolas!" cried Gimli, as the pair ran after the blonde elf. They found him and Aragorn wading through a field of grasping hands, which seemed to be growing from the skulls that carpeted the ground. Minato winced, squeezing his eyes shut when he unfortunately recalled a nasty ghost story Jiraiya-sensei once told him.

"Oh please don't take my manhood," he whispered, not intending for it to be spoken in Hoshi's language. The crunching noises created by his companion's movements abrutly stopped. The jōnin opened his eyes, concerned that there was something wrong with him. Instead, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were giving him an utterly horrified look. The ranger's face was the same pale green color as the skulls beneith his feet. Minato noticed his mistake and started to snicker.

"It's rumored-_hehe-_that the severed hands-_teeheehee_-of our female warriors-_snerk_-become ghosts and attempt-_haha-_to-_bwhahaha!_"

The shinobi had disolved into laughter before he could finish his explanation, but from the looks on his companions faces, they didn't seem to need it.

"You have encountered this...thing before?" Aragorn asked, his face still bloodless.

The yellow-haired shinobi stopped laughing. "It's only a rumor and a legend," he answered flippanly.

"But rumors and legends can be true," the ranger pointed out, before violently waving away a hand which seemed to be reaching for an uncomfortable place. In fact, it seemed that each hand had ceased streaching for their upper bodies and had relocated their attention to a lower, more sensitive point. Never before had Minato seen the three friends run so fast. Despite his terror, the shinobi chuckled as he followed them into a large cavern. Inside one end the cavern was a building, which was carved into the wall. The other end was a deep, dark pit, which, like everything else, was clouded by a fine layer of bone dust. The jōnin sneezed, uneasy.

"Who enters my domain?"

The voice was cold and sounded like a snarling bijuu as it echoed throughout the cavern. Following Aragorn's eyes, Minato found the source of the voice, squeaking when he saw it. A gastly green appearition of a decayed king stood in front of the stairs, wearing a strange crown and armor. But above the king... The yellow-haired shinobi froze in horror, his surroundings forgotten, when he saw a _Shinigami_ floating above the king's head. It's grey face was twisted into a fanged grin and a pair of long, red horns potuded from its sleek black hair that was tied up into a topknot. Blood bubbled from a slit at its throat and stained the elaborate armor it wore.

_*"After all these years of being sent to babysit I finally meet someone who can release me from my task,"*_ it chuckled, a pair yellow eyes fixed on the Namikaze.

The jōnin blinked in surprise. _*"What?"* _he cried_. *"You are mistaken. I cannot release you. Only Aragorn can,"*_

He turned to the tall man, who was in the process of parrying a sword blow from the Ghost King, who had surrounded them with his army.

"That blade was broken!" cried the disbelieveing King.

"It has been remade," retaliated the ranger, who grabbed the ghost's throat and pushed him back. Aragorn turned to the army and began to walk among them. "Fight for us and regain your honour. What say you?"

Gimli snorted. "Ach! You waste your time Aragorn. They had no honour in life and they have none now in death,"

The ghosts' faces (or what was left of them) displayed offence at the dwarf's comment, but they did not make a move to harm anybody. Not dissuaded by Gimli's remark, the ranger continued to negotiate with the army.

"I am Isildur's heir. Fight for me and I will hold your oaths fulfilled. What say you?"

The _Shinigami's _barking laugh filled the cavern, causing both ghosts and living people to look around wildly for the source. Minato blinked, realizing that he might be the only person to see the Death god. The Ghost King sighed.

"Our guardian has decided to...grace us with her presence," he remarked sacastically.

"Her?" the yellow-haired shinobi cried in shock, looking up at the grinning ghoul. The _Shinigami_ shot him an offended look, but continued to chuckle.

"Where is she?" Legolas asked quietly. "I do not see her,"

The lordly ghost frowned. "Heir of Isildur, place your hand on the shinobi's head,"

Aragorn walked over to Minato and uncertainly placed his hand upon the jōnin's spiky, yellow head.

_"I feel like a little kid again,"_ he thought, feeling the tall man jump in surprise when he saw the ghoul.

"What is she?" Aragorn whispered, his voice colored with disgust. "And what amuses her so?"

_*"I would have never imagined that Isildur's heir would be so short,"*_ the _Shinigami _said with a grin. _*"and so powerless,"*_

Minato grit his teeth, while the ranger remained confused. "What is she saying?" he asked.

The jōnin sighed. "She is calling you short and weak, but I do not know where she might have gotten that notion," he answered.

The fanged _yōkai_ frowned. "Ee cannot yoose chakra," she said haltingly. "Eis ancestor coold. 'Ow do yoo think I was summoned and theeze dimwhits cursed?"

Aragorn managed to hide his bemusement quite well. "Will not my word to release you from your task and the army from their curse suffice?" he asked cooly. "If it does, I do not see a reason for us to stand around and discuss it,"

The _Shinigami _began to laugh, but this laughter belonged to a woman, and not to this hideous ghoul's body. The Ghost King was cackling alongside her, and the army began to disappear. The ranger's grip on the jōnin's yellow head tightened, not allowing for the shinobi to see the grey-eyed man's expression.

"Does it not matter whether I have the same abilities as Isildur?" he cried, desperation leaking into his voice. "I, who am from his line, can release you from this living death. You have my word! Fight and I will hold your oath fulfilled. What say you?"

But the ranger's pleading was in vain, for the army and the _Shinigami_ had vanished.

"Stand you, traitors!" snarled Gimli, the dwarf's gruff voice reminding Minato of his precense. But a cracking sound caught his attention.

"C'mon, Out!" cried the jōnin, removing Aragorn's rather large hand from his head and dragging him toward an exit. Legolas and Gimli quickly followed them as the building broke open, pouring out hundreds upon thousands of skulls. Luckily, they were out of the cavern before the skulls hit them and the path was closed by falling rubble. But a cloud of corpse dust followed them, causing the yellow-haired shinobi to cough as they exited the tunnels. Minato was glad to be outside, but as he looked down on the river below, any joy he felt vanished. He looked back at the tunnel to see Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli stumble out of the mountain, only to look at the sight before them. A town on the river was up in flames, and many black ships were ancored in the river. The look of pain and despair on Aragorn's face made the shinobi ache for him. The poor man seemed to be on the verge of tears and he sank to his knees, leaning on Legolas, who put a comforting hand on his shoulder. The elf, along with Gimli, wore an uncertain and sorrowful look on his face. Minato did not trust his voice, mostly because he felt that he might cry if he said anything.

_"Rule 25: "A shinobi must never show emotion." _he thought mornfully. But that cold air returned, accompanied by the sound of crunching gravel. The shinobi turned around, stunned to see the Ghost King. Aragorn who was standing, appeared to be equally floored.

"We fight," he hissed.

Even upon death, Namikaze Minato would still retain that it was perfectly proper to whoop for joy at that moment.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:**

**Thank You WolfDemon1000, Immortalis Cruor Elf, DreamingIn2Eternity and Ice Vixen X for reviewing!**

**Sorry for the long wait, and I am sure that you don't want excuses, so here is a rabbit:**

**(\_/) **

**(='.'=)**

**(")_(")**

**Thanks for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Rin awoke early in the morning, just as the sun was rising. Streaching, she stumbled over to a water basin and splashed some water on her face. She casually looked out a window that gave her a good view of the fields in front of Minas Tirith, and did a double take.<p>

"Hoshi!" she cried, running out of the room, not caring that she was only in a borrowed nightgown, to find her teammate.

"Shhh!" hissed Kuro, who stuck his head into the hallway. "He's sleeping; don't wake him up,"

"But I need to talk to him!" she whispered urgently. The thick-lashed Uchiha smiled slightly.

"You can do that when he is awake," he soothed. "Why don't you come in? Susano'o is back and he needs some patching up,"

Hesitantly, the petite brunette slipped through the doorway into the other medic's room. She was surprised to find Hoshi sprawled across the end of the bed, his eyes half-open as he dreamt. The Snake Sannin's copper-skinned student occupied the rest of the bed, his face pale. Susano'o sported several lacerations across his chest, which bled through the layers of bandages. His face was grimy and blood trickled from a cut on his mouth, which was slightly agape as he snored.

"I did as much as I could, but there might be something in the wounds that is preventing them from properly healing," murmured Kuro apologetically. The black-haired boy looked ashamed because he was unable to completely heal his friend.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Rin consoled gently as she unwrapped his bandages. "His injuries don't look so bad because you treated them," Concentrating on her hand, she began to heal Susano'o's wounds. The boy stirred, squeezing his eyes against the pale green glow.

"Ai, Rin," he grumbled. "It's too bright,"

The two medics laughed as the copper-skinned shinobi awoke, giving them a scowl. "Laugh all you want," he said sulkily. "But I need my sleep. See, Hoshi knows what I am talking about,"

The pointy-eared boy snorted in his sleep, then curled up into his usual ball. The brunette medic giggled, slightly losing her concentration on the jutsu. The room lapsed into silence, with the sound of a crackling fire in the background.

"Are the civilians in their assigned places?" asked Susano'o, peering out of heavily-lidded eyes.

"Rin and Gandalf helped me herd everyone into the underbelly of the upper levels," he answered quietly. "The Gondorians were surprisingly cooperative, and the current leader of the garrison was nothing but helpful,"

The injured shinobi chuckled. "Good," he murmured, wincing slightly. "The blasted _onis_ are just starting to creep from Osgiliath. The fight will be starting by midday,"

Rin finished healing the lacerations on the copper-skinned shinobi's chest, smeared a salve on the still tender wounds and carefully rebandaged his chest.

"What happened to Faramir?" she asked while she was wrapping up his torso in gauze.

A look of meloncoly flitted across Susano'o's dirty face. "I left one of my summons with him. I couldn't take him off the slaughter field, and the poor _taicho's _foot is stuck in the stirrup of his saddle. My summon can communicate with horses, which is why I left him there. When the army gets too close, the horse is under orders to return with Faramir to Minas Tirith,"

"Shouldn't the horse have fled already?" asked Kuro while craning his neck to look out of a small window. "It looks close enough to me,"

A feral grin crossed the injured genin, widening the cut on his lips. "I have to give that pointy-eared coward my thanks. I have no idea what he did, but when a wave of orcs ran out of their hidey-holes to attack us, they had not gone but twelve yards from the city when they all fell down, twiching. Heck, some even exploded! A few of the men managed to make it into the city, past the spazzing _onis_, without any adverse affects. In the long run it didn't make much of a difference, but the strange barrier kept the horde inside Osgiliath instead of chasing after us."

Kuro frowned, looking up from his new place by the hearth, making some tea. "Chasing you? Why, were you running away?" he asked, confused.

The bandaged boy sighed, wincing as he shifted positions. "I managed to convince a group of rangers and Faramir-_taicho_ to retreat behind a crumbling bit of a wall, but they all got shot by arrows, that seemed to be covered in a thick clear poison. Only Faramir survived long enough for me to remove the arrows and negate most of the poison,"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute!" protested the Uchiha, waving his arms in front of him. "There is no way you couldn't have been shot. You are not that lucky!"

Susano'o smirked. "A little genjutsu goes a long way, my friend. How do you think I managed to slip off the battlefield in front of a massive army?"

The thick-lashed boy shrugged. "By flying?" he weakly suggested.

Rin chuckled. Susano'o's albatrosses were some of the least subtle summons she had ever seen, and they were certainly not stealthy creatures. The image of the goofy black and white bird attempting to covertly fly off the battlefield with its bleeding summoner on its back was definantly an amusing one. Hoshi once again spralled out along the edge of the bed, and he began to mumble.

_"Nazgûl, trolls, and orcs, oh my!_

_Black riders on fell beasts fly,_

_The Age of man is over, they cry,_

_None the less, all will die."_

"Such a cheerful fellow. Tell me, does he always make such statements?"

The three shinobi turned their heads to see Gandalf standing in the doorway. The White wizard's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Not normally," answered Rin. "He has made a lot more predictions here than back at home,"

The Istari nodded his snowy head. "I hope you all are prepared for today," he said seriously. "After all, it is going to be a long day,"

They nodded in understanding. Gandalf inclined his head and a small smile crossed his face.

"You should awaken Hoshi, or he might not be ready for battle," he said before leaving the doorframe.

The three shinobi looked at their sleeping comrade, then each other.

"Noses!" cried Kuro. Ironically, he was the slowest.

"Damn!" he cursed, giving his 'cousin' a fearful look. Laughing, Rin shook her head as walked out of the room to her own to ready herself for battle.

**\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/**

Pippin stifled a yawn as he followed Denethor and his escort around the various negelected gardens in the uppermost circle. The Steward still wore a grumpy look, which seemed to increase in grumpiness as the day wore on. The hobbit's stomach rumbled, reminding him of his lack of second breckfast, elevensies and lunch, while teatime had just past.

_"So much for receiving good food now that I am in one place,"_ he thought sadly.

"Hello, Pip," greeted a soft voice directly behind him.

The Took yelped in surprise, whipping around to see Hoshi. The boy was dressed in the strange shinobi chain mail, and wore a jerkin that bore the elblem of the White tree, though his trousers were the kind the shinobi wore.

"Don't sneak up like that!" Pippin gently scolded. "While it is nice to see you, why are you here?"

The dark-haired human shrugged. "Everything we could organize is organized, and we have to wait for Faramir to return before the battle officially starts. I like this place, and it has a nice view,"

"Pippin!" called one of the dark-robed courtiers.

"Coming!" he answered, running the catch up to the man. Hoshi jogged beside him, a worried look on his pale face. They hurried into the palace, their feet clicking on the stone floors and echoing through the corridors.

"What is going on?" Hoshi whispered to the courtier.

"Lord Denethor received word that his son has returned," answered the man in a hushed tone. "I prey that Faramir lives,"

They caught up with the rest of the entorage, hurrying to the courtyard of the White tree behind the Steward. There stood a captain of the Tower guards, whose name was Iorlas. Four soldiers gently placed a streacher down by the tree as Denethor approached it.

"Faramir!" he cried softly as he knelt down to look at his son. "Say not that he has fallen,"

The blonde man had a sorrowful look in his eyes. "They were outnumbered," he replied with a hint of animosity in his voice. "None survived," The soldier looked as if he wanted to add _"What did you expect?"_

Denethor slowly stood up and staggered away from the responseless Faramir. "My sons are spent!" he moaned. "My line has ended,"

Seeing an opportunity, Pippin ran over to the streacher and put a hand on the light-haired man's face.

"He's alive!" he whispered with surprise.

Hoshi, who had followed him, knelt down and removed Faramir's breastplate, revealing two puncture wounds that were sloppily stitched shut. He carefully removed the stitches then took a plant from a pouch and began to chew it.

"What on earth are you doing?" the young hobbit hissed in shock.

The pointy-eared boy spat out the paste like substance and carefully smeared it on the man's wounds. "Treating his wounds properly," he snapped. Closing his grey eyes, and placing his hands gently on the injuries, Hoshi began chanting softly in Elvish. Pippin's eyes widened as an inperceptible green light emitted from his hands. Several of the surrounding soldiers were murmuring, unsettling the hobbit. The strange boy stopped chanting and began to bandage the wounds.

"Pip, he needs medicine," Hoshi said quietly. "There is nothing more I can do,"

Nodding, the dark-haired halfling turned to Denethor, who was still stumbling along, grieving for his son.

"My lord, Faramir needs medicine!" Pippin called urgently.

Ignoring the hobbit, the Steward continued to stumble along. "My line has ended!" he howled, reaching the wall of the level over looking the Pellennor.

"My lord!" he cried again, slightly miffed that his advice was not heeded and idly wondering if the man was going to fall over the wall. Instead, the Steward yelled at the top of his lungs:

"ABANDON YOUR POSTS! FLEE, FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Iorlas and Hoshi looked astounded, the latter angrier than the former. However, the angriest had to be the newcomer, who was none other than Gandalf. The wizard practically ran over to Denethor, and, as soon as the man turned around, hit him with his staff; once in the face, once in the stomach, and a finishing blow on the back, sending the Steward to the ground.

"Prepare for battle!" Gandalf commanded. With a nod, Hoshi pat Pippin on the shoulder and broke into a sprint, his hands weaving one of the shinobi's many spells. The halfling's eyes widened, realizing that the boy was about to jump off the level.

"Wait, Hoshi!" he cried, standing up. But it was too late, the dark-haired child had already leapt off the wall. A falcon's cry pierced the air as an enormous peregrine falcon rose in front of them with the strange shinobi on his back. Large, dark eyes peered out from beneith an alien helmet, its wings and body were covered in a colorful, woven armor, and its murderous talons were elongated by sickle-shaped metal guantlets. Pippin gulped, feeling like a mouse in the great raptor's eyes.

_*"Ikuzo, Kublai,"* _ Hoshi commanded the falcon, and dove toward the incoming army.

**\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/**

Eldarion had been anticipating Gandalf's command as permission for the shinobi to start their attacks. The plan of attack was for him and Susano'o to bomb the incoming forces and defend the city from the air, while the two medics would perform field work. So far the seabird-summoner had destroyed five siege towers, ten catapults and a small cohort of the orcish forces. When he finished survaying the skys, the grey-eyed genin stood up from his crouching position and moved closer to Kublai's head.

_**"You want something?"**_ asked the falcon with an amused tone. Eldarion jumped slightly, still not used to the giant bird's method of communication. He knew that the raptor lord could speak, but it seemed that he preferred not to.

_*"Um, could you...?"*_ he stammered, unsure if it was proper for him to order Kublai around. The large Peregrine was already on top of the situation, and had not needed his guidance the previous time he was summoned.

_**"If you want something, than spit it out!"**_ snapped the armored falcon, no longer amused. Before the slightly miffed genin could say anything, the angry scream of a Nazgûl rent through the air, forcing Eldarion to clasp his hands over his ears in pain.

"We've got company!" he yelled through gritted teeth, looking up to see the rider and its steed bearing down upon them. With a strong upward thrust of his wings, Kublai flew up to meet the Fell beast. Quickly cluching onto a strap of the falcon lord's armor, the elf-like shinobi held on as his summon swung it's talons upward to lock onto its opponent's. Only chakra and a strong grip kept Eldarion from falling off the Peregrine's back as the vicious raptor tore apart the Fell beast with its beak and talons. The Nazgûl continued to scream the entire time; the cold, piercing screech whittling away at the lanky shinobi's sanity.

"Will. you. shut. UP!" he screamed, pulling himself from his virtually upside-down position and quickly climbing up Kublai's back to the falcon's helmeted head. Undoing a seal on his red guantlets, the elf-like boy pulled out his _Guan Dao_ and jumped onto the Fell beast's bloody back. The wind wooshed past them as both bird and beast fell out of the sky.

"Aren't you brave, little one?" crooned the Nazgûl from beneith its black robes. The rush of anger that fueled him was gone, now replaced by limb-numbing fear. The image of a young boy, hanging lifelessly from a rope around his neck, flashed across his mind's eye. Eldarion shook his head fiercely.

_"Don't let their Killing Intent get to you," _commanded himself. _"Fight back!"_

His hands lapsed into the seals for a familiar jutsu as he dodged sword blow. In retailiation, he swung his _Guan Dao_ up into its supposed face. The scream it gave off as the hood burst into black flames nearly deafened the adopted Uchiha. He doubled over in pain, clawing at his throbbing ears. The free fall abruptly ended when the foul corpse slammed into a seige tower against the wall. The Nazgûl disappeared, giving Eldarion enough time to recover. He slowly got to his feet and stood shakily on top the Fell beast's decapitated carcass. He peered out between shafts of splintered wood to see that he was just level with the edge of the wall. After checking to see that his polearm was safely in its storage seal, the tall genin vaulted over to the battlements. Instead of his feet meeting stone, they met an orc's face, which subsequently exploded upon contact with his chakra-covered soles.

"Hoshi!" cried a voice below him. He wildly searched until his eyes landed on the person he was looking for.

"Pippin, what are you doing here?" he asked. The hobbit's short sword was coated in black blood, and he looked rather confused.

"Watching my back, for now," answered Gandalf as he slew another vile creature. "You are to return to the Citadel immediately, Peregrin Took,"

The halfling nodded, running up a flight of nearby steps. Eldarion looked around. Only two siege towers had reached the wall. The rest had either been crushed by stones thrown from the catapults or blown up by Susano'o's explosive tags. Three of the Nazgûl were currently being engaged by Kublai and an albatross, while the bandaged shinobi harrassed two of the others. Biting his thumb again, the elf-like boy carefully molded all the chakra he could muster, then ran through the seals while running toward the edge of the wall. Jumping off the edge, he activated the technique.

_"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

In a puff of smoke, a sleeker Peregrine appeared beneith him, wearing similar armor to Kublai but lacking a helmet. Eldarion landed on its back as gently as it could.

_**"What would you have me do, master?"**_ asked the falcon. The summon's voice was feminine, leading Eldarion to believe that it was a female. His grey eyes scanned the battlefield as they flew along the wall until they landed on a monstrous batting ram, shaped like a wolf. He could hear the orcs chanting its name as it was pulled along to the gate.

"Grond," he whispered fearfully. His summon looked up at him, puzzled. The flaming metal batting ram was too close to the gate to use an exploding tag without damaging the gate itself. Inhaling deeply, the tall genin answered her initial question. "Drop me off by the gate, then join Kublai. He will tell you what to do from there,"

Nodding her dark head she glided over to the besieged gate. She hovered briefly over the battlements, allowing the lanky shinobi to jump off her back. His two sandeled feet safely on solid rock, Eldarion looked off toward the west.

_"The sun is setting," _he observed _"But we will be fighting long into the night,"_

"Hoshi!" cried a voice from the courtyard below. The adopted Uchiha looked down to see a smiling Kuro, a somber Rin, and a large group of soldiers. A small smile crossed his face as he jumped down and strode over to them.

"How many hits would it take for the gate to break down if they are using Ground?" asked the peitite brunette as soon as he was next to them. A wave a snickers rippled through the armored men, causing Rin to glare at them.

Stifling his own laughter, Eldarion pondered on the question. "Three to four, I believe," he answered seriously. "Either way, we will be flooded with orcs and trolls,"

Kuro shook his head. "Not if we reinforce the gate," he countered.

The wavy-haired shinobi snorted at his 'cousin's' remark. "With what? The rubble from the damaged buildings?"

The thick-lashed Uchiha gave him a hurt look. "Iorlas-_taicho_ wasn't so mean," he said sulkily, provoking a wave of guild to flood through his adopted clan member.

"Anyways," continued Rin, giving them both an admonishing look. "Kuro could use _Doton: Doryūheki _to block the gate,"

Eldarion was pleasantly surprised by the information. "You have Earth-nature chakra?" he asked.

Kuro was about to reply when a booming _thud_ sounded through the courtyard. All eyes turned to the gate, which had shaken slightly. Without hesitation, Rin shoved her fellow medic toward the wooden entrance.

"Less talk, more wall-making!" she urged. "Everyone, stand clear of the gate!"

Intrigued, the pointy-eared boy watched his fellow Uchiha carefully form the seals. He jumped slightly when Kuro vomited mud, which quickly shot up to completely cover the gate area. The shinobi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and dusted his palms off.

"That should do the trick," he said, looking very pleased. The mud proceeded to harden, muffling the sound of the ram as it it the gate a second time. Gandalf arrived on the scene on Shadowfax with more men. The Istari regarded the new barrier with surprise.

"A clever idea," he remarked. "But how long will it hold?"

Kuro removed a tag from his back pouch and placed it on the wall. "For ten to twelve hours," he said, satisfied.

No sooner did the words leave the genin's lips did the sound of splintering wood and the bellows of outrage ring through the twilight. Heavy blows fell on Kuro's mud wall, but it held. Its creator snickered and nonchalantly laid a hand on the tag. The shrieks of anger transformed into cries of pain, along with shouts of surprise from the archers defending the gate from above.

Eldarion turned to his cousin, bewildered. "What on earth did you do?" he asked.

The Uchiha removed his had from the tag. "I made it grow spikes," he answered carelessly, before being pulled away by Rin.

"C'mon Uchiha," she said lightly. "We have some wounded to take care of,"

Gandalf survayed the gate area and then turned to the tall shinobi. "Lay out a trap just in case the orcs manage to break through," he said quietly, before addressing the others in a louder voice. "For the time being, the entrance is secure and all of the enemy's catapults and towers have been destroyed. You may rest, but be vigilant, for the enemy's strength is greater in the dark. Stay away from the gate, for some traps are to be laid there," With that warning, the White Wizard left the gate area. Eldarion sighed and gazed at the innocent mud wall in the dim light, pondering which genjustu to use.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:**

**Thank you Anonymous Reviewer and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! (Thank you Metoochocolate for the comment on Part I. I was attempting to save that for the prequel, but I managed to sneak something in. I just hope it turns out well)**

**Please don't forget to review, let me know what you thing of it.**

**Thanks for the support, and on with the show.**

* * *

><p>Gimli stood on the pebbly shore between Aragorn and Legolas, waiting for the black ships to approach them. Minato was hiding off to the side, presumably because he did not want the ghosts running through him. The dwarf chuckled, recalling how antsy the normally relaxed shinobi was in the paths of the Dead. Finally, the boats came into earshot.<p>

"You may go no further," commanded Aragorn, his voice carrying over the water. One of the corsairs stood up, an unpleasent look on his important-looking face. "You will not enter Gondor,"

The crew jeered at them, clearly amused by the man's declaration. "Who are you to deny us passage?" asked the important looking corsair, who was not as amused as the rest of his brethren.

"Legolas," said the ranger. "Fire a warning shot past the boson's ear,"

"The left or the right?" asked the archer with the hint of a smile on his face. Aragorn surpressed an eye roll, much to Gimli's infinate amusement.

"Whatever you deem better," he answered, exasperated.

The blond elf removed an arrow from his quiver and nocked it, beginning to raise his bow. An idea began to form in the dwarf's head.

"Mind your aim!" he notified Legolas, who did not seem to recognize his tip-off. The elf aimed and began to pull back the bowstring. Seconds before the arrow released, Gimli hit the bottom of the bow with the butt of his axe. His operation turned out to be quite successful, as the arrow hit a rather round corsair to the right of the boson (how Aragorn knew he was a boson was a mystery to him), sending the fellow to the decks quite painfully.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, deciding to play up the incident while ignoring the looks he was receiving from his companions. "That's right, we warned you! Prepare to be boarded!"

The mercenary pirates roared with laughter, not seeing that the dwarf was actually serious.

"Boarded?" sneered one pirate. "By you and whose army?"

"This army," answered Aragorn. Right on cue, the Ghost King and his men charged through them and attacked the boats. According to plan, the three hung back and waited for the dead to take each boat, which they did with amazing speed.

"Is it necessary for them to kill everyone?" asked Minato, who had recently joined them.

"We cannot trust them, and they will turn against us," answered the ranger with a resolute look on his face.

The shinobi sighed and shrugged his soldiers. "I guess you know how to sail a ship upriver," he said, watching corpses fall of the dark boats.

Gimli blicked in surprise. He hadn't ever considered the idea. Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a look of horrified realization.

"It's too late now," the sunny man said, shooting down any thoughts the man had. "From the looks of it, all the boats have been cleaned off,"

The dwarf sighed, for Minato was right. In fact, a few of the ghosts were digging a pit and filling it with the bodies of the pirates and the rest were cleaning the decks of the now anchored vessels. Aragorn ran a hand through his grimy hair.

"Now what do we do?" he asked, every inch of him screaming with frustration.

"Relax," soothed the shinobi. "I'll have a couple of my toad summons pull the boats. But you should get on a boat before I do anything,"

Gimli raised an eyebrow, slightly skeptical. However, the shinobis' plans usually worked, so he was willing to trust Minato. Some of the dead warriors lowered a gangplank, and they boarded the ship. A wave of great tiredness hit the dwarf, surprising him with its intensity.

"I'm goin' below decks," he grumbled to no one, followed by a perticularly exhausted Aragorn. As soon as the man stumbled into a berth, he was out like a candle in a storm. Just as Gimli was settling in his own berth, a mightly jolt slammed him into the hard wood surrounding him. Aragorn suffered a worse fate, and ended up being thrown out of the berth, after hitting all possible corners, onto the floor.

"What in Eru's name was that?" cursed the bruised man, rubbing his head.

A sunny yellow head peeked down from above decks. "Don't worry, that was just Bunta," said the shinobi cheerfully. "He agreed to pull the boat for us,"

Aragorn nodded with beffudled understanding before dragging himself back to his berth. "That is one strong toad," he grumbled, before falling asleep again.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

When the Rohirrim decided to pause for a brief break, the three shinobi and their wargs had all but collapsed with exhaustion. Currently, Kakashi was sitting on a rock next to Merry, counting the amount of Food Pills he still had. Obito and Anko were putting leather booties on the wargs, whose paws had not handled the long journey well. But the hellish hounds had not faltered once, impressing the masked chūnin.

_"They would make fine _ninken_,"_ he thought, removing an old _Origiri_ from a scroll. Merry was eating what appeared to be a slice of meat between two pieces of lembas, which looked oddly appitizing. In the background, Obito and Anko were tunelessly singing a rediculously annoying song.

_*"jitensha! jitensha! jitensha! jitensha! jitensha!_

_koide! koide! koide! koide! koide, iku yo,_

_imasugu! imasugu! imasugu! imasugu! imasugu!_

_jitensha! jitensha, koide,_

_ano hito ni ai ni yukou,"*_

Several of the Riders were shooting the two nasty looks, while Merry was chuckling. A wry smile appeared on Eowyn's wan face, but it did not reach her icy blue eyes. Kakashi frowned slightly as he stealthily crammed the riceball into his mouth; something was off about the Shieldmaiden.

_*__"Hey, Kakashi,"*_ murmured Obito, who had sindled over to his side. _*"Isn't it a bit odd that Ice Princess keeps ducking behind her horse whenever someone of importance waltzes by?"*_

The Hatake nodded. _*"They probably have a bais against women warriors; in that they train them for defensive, not offensive, warfare, and Eowyn doesn't want to get chewed out by someone,"*_

"Make ready!" Theoden's voice rang out over the lake they were resting by, reaching their ears. Merry tensed slightly, his eyes sparking with anticipation. A worried look crossed Eowyn's face when she heard her uncle's command.

"Take heart Merry," she said, the words sounding more for herself then for the Bradybuck. "It will soon be over,"

The hobbit blinked in surprise, but he did not stop eating when he answered her. "My lady. You are fair and brave and have much to live for and many who love you," she gave him a sort of skeptical, desperate look, as if she were wishing that his truthful words were even truer. "I know it is too late to turn aside. I know there is not much point now in hoping. If I were a knight of Rohan capable of great deeds…but I'm not. I'm a Hobbit. And I know I can't save Middle Earth. I just want to help my friends; Frodo, Sam, Pippin. More than anything I wish I could see them again," he finished with a lopsided smile. The White Lady gave him a small smile, her spirits appearing to be somewhat lifted by that speech. However, Kakashi was greatly disturbed by what he heard. The Bradybuck's first sentance sounded like a plea for her not to throw her life away. As he pondered on the matter, a horn sounded, declaring the end of the rest. Anko strolled over atop Cookie, leading Rocky and the other warg over to them

"Well" said Anko, who shot a furtive look at the still-meloncoly Eowyn. "On to ass-kicking,"

Eowyn placed her helmet on her head. "To battle," she corrected with a trace of humor in her voice.

"To battle!" affirmed a helmeted Merry with a grin. They mounted her horse and the two boys climbed atop their wargs. As soon as they were in their makeshift saddles, Anko wrapped an arm around each sholder, pulling the Uchiha and Hatake close.

_*"We have to keep a close eye on Ice Princess,"*_ she hissed. _*"I dunno why, but Swordchick here is a tad suicidal,"*_

_*"Only keep a close eye?"* _Kakashi snapped in return. _*__"We should remove her from the force altogether! She's looking for death, isn't she?"*_

Obito shook his head fiercely. _*"No, she has to stay. Remember, in Lothlorien? Witch-King, be afraid! Beware the White Lady, and her Halfling friend__? Hoshi told me that the Witch-King is a pretty nasty person, and Ice Princess and Merry will be helping us out. Besides, it's too late to turn back now,"*_

His masked teammate sighed. _*"Fine, but if she gets injured on our watch, you are going to tell her brother,"*_

Anko released a malicious laugh. "Clever, Kakashi!" she said as they rode off after Eowyn.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Rin bustled through the Houses of Healing, guided by her eager teammate as they carried more of the wounded into the the hospital-like complex. Hoshi was whistling merrily, practically pulling the petite medic along through the strecher they were carrying. A fortunate lull in the fighting had occurred due to the destruction of all of the enemy's siege towers and catapults, so the horde was forced to turn their attention to the now-unbreechable gate. Half as a joke, half as an act of caution, the Gondorians had begun to pile anything they could find in front of Kuro's mud wall. Rin had seen many statues, parts of old buildings, even furniture stacked up in the barricade. Hoshi was simply delighted by the turn of events, and she had to pull her teammate away from the gate for him to stop laying genjutsu traps. The tall boy's spirits had yet to dampen, as his whistling had dissolved into song as they finally entered the correct room.

_"Fifteen birds in five firtrees,_

_their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze!_

_But, funny little birds, they had no wings!_

_O what shall we do with the funny little things?_"

They gently placed the strecher down. Rin took a brief look at the soldier's injury (a badly sprained ankle) before summoning one of the many healers over to her. The medic blinked slightly, remembering this perticular face.

"Hello Lothíriel," she greeted the dark-haired, olive-skinned woman with a small smile. The kind healer had served has her guide when she toured the Houses of Healing after Gandalf had introduced her to the Warden, or Head, of the Houses.

The healer inclined her head slightly in aknowledgement. "A sprained ankle?" she asked.

Rin nodded. "Torn ligament, but fortunately doesn't require surgury," she answered, making sure that everything was realined before splinting it. "He also had a concussion, but rest might be the best option,"

The brunette's shoulder was violently tapped, prompting her to look up irritably.

"Where's Faramir-_taicho_?" asked Susano'o. The boy had found a bottle of wine somewhere and he had no intentions of sharing. "I looked all over, but I cannot find him,"

"Well, he's not here," snapped Rin, standing up. Lothíriel shot her a confused look.

"Why is he not here?" asked the healer. "I heard that he was gravely injured,"

Rin and Susano'o exchanged a knowing look. "Hoshi!" yelled the bandaged shinobi. The tall boy slid into the room from another door, a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked. The medic noted that his faint aura had returned, and he was covered with sprigs of a sweet-smelling herb.

"Where's Faramir-_taicho_?" asked the Snake Sannin's student. Hoshi's grey eyes widened.

"You two, go to the Silent Street!" he ordered, shoving them aside. Confused, Rin ran after him, followed by Susano'o and Lothíriel.

"Where is the Silent Street?" she asked, catching up with her fast-moving teammate.

"Lady Lothíriel can show you the way, if it is not too much trouble for her," he answered.

The dark-haired healer made a weak noise of protest upon being called 'Lady', but she nodded in affirmation. "It will be no trouble at all,"

"What about you?" asked Susano'o suspiciously, who was nursing his bottle of wine.

"I have to find Gandalf," Hoshi answered before launching himself into a sprint.

Rin watched her teammate go before Lothíriel gently tapped her on the shoulder.

"Please follow me," she said quietly, leading them up to the Silent Street.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Eldarion ran through the quiet streets, searching for the White wizard. He was reluctant to call out for the Istari and disturb the quiet air around him. The genin suddenly stopped, hearing heavy footfalls on the stone-covered ground of an alley.

"Gandalf?" he asked quietly, looking down the dark lane. There was no answer. Suspicious and curious, Eldarion moved closer to the dim entrance to get a better look. Out of nowhere, a weighted net hurled toward him, and would have caught the adopted Uchiha if he hadn't jumped off to the side. A body followed, throwing a kunai at his head. Acting quickly, he hurled several shurikin at his opponent, deflecting the kunai and catching the person off-guard. Seeing his opening, Eldarion didn't hesitate to weave a genjutsu.

_"Genjutsu Shibari"_

The body came crashing to the ground, allowing the lanky genin to get a good look at his opponent. His eyes widened with shock before narrowing with anger.

"Yuu," he spat, yanking out a spool of wire and promptly tying his enemy's hands together. A thin, scarred man glared back at him briefly, before his face split into a wide grin.

"Uchiha Hoshi, you're a sigh for sore eyes," he rasped.

Eldarion did not care if he permentantly crippled the red-haired shinobi as he viciously tied his libs together.

"I suppose you're wondering what a Suna shinobi is doing here in your home world," he continued with the infuriating smile on his face. "Well, it's 'cause we got Konoha's little plan all figured out, and it revolves around you,"

"I don't know what the f-k you are talking about," the genin hissed.

Yuu's dark eyes widened in surprise. "Man, you're still sore about that little incident-acckkk!"

Eldarion was shaking with rage. The fact that he might be murduring his captive was the last thing on his mind. It felt good to see the man shake with fear as his hand tightened his grip around his throat.

"You tricked me into killing my little cousin," he whispered tonelessly. "You nearly sent our countries spiraling into war again,"

The paralyzing genjutsu wore off, allowing his captive to desperately push against his arm. Shaking his head, Eldarion released his grip, horrified how easily he had given in to his anger. Yuu gasped for breath, and attempted to adjust his bandana/forehead protector.

"That's rich, coming from the kidnappers of the Third Kazekage," he rasped sourly.

"What!" cried the wavy-haired genin. "Why would we do that?"

"That's what we would like to know." Yuu said in with a deadpan expression. "Did you think your little plan would work? Suna has been aware of this world's existance since its founding, and all of its entrances. True, we have never entered it fully, but it mystifys me as to why Konoha took you from one time and had you return to another..."

The adopted Uchiha punched him in the face to silence the blathering shinobi. "Konoha is above creating such needlessly convoluted plans," he said coldly. "You have it all wrong,"

The red-haired Suna nin smiled again. "Maybe I do, but that doesn't mean that we aren't going to work with your enemies and try to take some Konoha nin out,"

Before Yuu could react, Eldarion threw him into another genjutsu. The man's dark eyes glazed over and his head lolled forward. The elf-like shinobi lifted his head so his grey eyes were looking into his captive's deep brown ones.

"How many shinobi are with you?" he asked slowly.

"Only...three...low-level... chūnin," was the answer, given in an unnerving monotone. Yuu's covered head shook slightly and his eyes became clear again, a look of self-loathing crossing his scarred face.

"The tables have turned," whispered Eldarion with a small smile on his face. "Thanks to you, I now know all sorts of illusions. Goodbye and good riddence,"

Without an ounce of remorse, he plunged a kunai into Yuu's heart, not noticing the shinobi's final hand signs.

The grey-eyed boy was unable to move as he looked into the dying obsidian eyes of his dear little cousin. Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, which forced out a few last words.

"It looks like I have the last laugh, Uchiha," the innocent, pained voice did not go with the darkly triumphant declaration. But Eldarion was not listening.

"I'm sorry Tatsuo," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. "I'm sorry!"

He broke down into a flood of tears, choking on his apologies. The shock of seeing the body of his murdered friend had pushed him over into the realm of delusion. With shaking arms, the lanky boy cradled the corpse's head, and stroked its curly, dark hair. He continued to weep miserably and rock back and forth.

"Hoshi?"

The strong, grandfatherly voice broke through the barriers of shock and grief. Eldarion turned his head behind him and looked up to see Gandalf's tired, old face, illuminated by a torch. Behind him stood noble Shadowfax, who was munching contently on someone's unlucky flowers. Coming to, the grey-eyed genin immediately let go of the bloody corpse, which had yet to revert back to its original form.

"What happened here?" asked the Istari, a concerned look on his face.

The prince took a deep breath to try an calm himself down. "It's a tale I do not wish to re-tell," he whispered in a shaky voice. Gandalf offered him a hand, which the lanky boy gladly accepted. The White wizard still wore a concerned look, but he wasn't pushing for any answers.

"Gandalf, Gandalf!" Pippin's voice echoed off the stone buildings. "Denethor has lost his mind. He's burning Faramir alive!" he announced, running up to the wizard, breathless. "Or at least he is trying to. Susano'o, Rin and someone else are stalling him,"

Eldarion felt like hurting himself. How could he be so stupid as to forget his little mission? But any thoughts of self-harm were forgotten as Gandalf scooped him and Pippin up and placed them onto Shadowfax's back before mounting himself.

"We must make haste if we are to reach them in time," said the Istari, spurring the noble _Mearas_ onward to the Citadel.

The elf-like boy closed his eyes, trying to ignore his trobbing head as they rode.

_"Rin, Susano'o, hang in there; we are coming,"_


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:**

**Thank You DreamingIn2Eternity, Requiem D, Hikari no Minerva, and Ice Vixen x for reviewing! Another thank you goes to Hikari no Minerva, and MWkillkenny84 for putting this on their story alerts list. Also thanks Hikari no Minerva for favoriting all three of my stories. **

**Requiem D - Thanks for the extra information! I only know a little bit about how the battles were depicted in the original books, (I never got past Fellowship...). Aragorn probably could run a ship, but it is next to impossible to run a large sailing ship on your own. **

**I am going away for at least two weeks and I don't know about updates. I will try if I can, but don't lose any sleep over it.**

**Thanks for the support, and on with the show.**

* * *

><p>Rin sighed deeply. "I know you are trying your best Lothíriel, but we are hopelessly lost,"<p>

The twenty-something healer was pacing the small square they were currently in. "I only know the way from the Citadel, and since we cannot enter it, we have to find another way in, and I don't know another way in,"

The petite brunette sighed. The guards at the Citadel's gate had refused to let them in, even when Lothíriel surprised the two shinobi and pulled rank by announcing her status as the Steward's neice. Still, they denied the group entrance.

"I still say we should have broken down the gate," Susano'o slurred slightly, before lifting the bottle and glaring at its label. "What the hell is this?" he asked.

The befuddled healer walked over to the bandaged boy and took a look at the label before gasping slightly.

"Where did you get this? You shouldn't be drinking it!" she cried, trying to take the bottle away.

"My question was retorical!" he yelled drunkenly, yanking the wine out of her reach. "I haven't had booze for, like, three days! Give me a break, lady!"

"Focus!" snapped Rin, losing her temper. "We have to get to the Silent Street and rescue Faramir. Lothíriel, are you sure that you don't know any other ways?"

The dark-haired woman paused, before snapping her fingers in realization. "Follow me!" she cried, taking off.

Susano'o groaned. "For a female civilian she sure can run,"

Trailing the healer, the two Konoha shinobi hurried through the quiet and empty streets, their footfalls echoing off the stone walls. Rin shivered.

_"This place already feels like a tomb,"_ she thought. Finally, they reached a gate. Outside of it stood two men, one young, the other old, guarding bundles of branches. Susano'o and the medic ducked behind a building, but Lothíriel kept walking. Panicked, Rin was about to hiss for the healer, but her alcoholic comrade thought quickly enough to pull her back. She screamed as the white bandages wrapped around her, but they were muffled by a temporary bandage gag.

"Shh, it's okay!" whispered the kunoichi to the terrified lady as Susano'o released her. "We just cannot be seen at the moment,"

Calmed down, Lothíriel shot her a confused look. "Why?" she whispered back.

"Shh!" the bandaged genin hissed as another man arrived with more bundles of sticks. Cupping his ear, he sindled closer to the men. Cautious, Rin followed him.

"So this should be the last of it," said the newcomer, setting the wood down with a grunt. The other two nodded; however, the younger one looked uneasy.

"Isn't it cruel to allow the Lord Denethor to burn his son alive?" he asked.

The old man sighed. "It would be crueler to allow him to die of fever then have his corpse defiled by our enemies,"

The newcomer gave him a fearful look. "Do you think that the city will be breached?" he asked.

The elderly man sighed. "In the palantír Lord Denethor saw black ships sailing up the Anduin, and with them a giant beast. The Corsairs are coming for revenge, to burn our city like we burned their havens,"

While the men were talking, Susano'o snuck up to their pile of bundles and seized two of them before crawling back to them.

"Now you go," he whispered, before taking another swig from the wine bottle.

Rin glued and mustered her courage. It wasn't a dangerous task, but the medic had never stolen anything before. She slowly crept over to the pile, staying close to the wall. The younger man shifted toward the pile, nearly cutting her off. The petite brunette froze, her hand outsreached toward a bundle. When there was no reaction, she grabbed the bundle and tore back to their spot as if there were a pack of wargs at her heels.

"Only one bundle?" mocked the copper-skinned shinobi, sitting on what had to be the entire pile of bundles. Her jaw dropped in shock and her face burned with embarressment.

"I've never stolen anything before! Give me a break!" she squeaked when she regained her voice.

"I'm still impressed," Lothíriel's soft voice floated from inside a ruined building. "I would have not been able to approach those men without being noticed, let alone stealing something right next to them," She reached through a hole in the wall and gently pried the bundle from Rin's grasp. Catching on, the brunette grabbed a whole bunch of the bundles and darted through the entrance. Just as she entered a dark room, the kunoichi heard a cry of shock and disbelief carry through the air. The men must have discovered the theft. Susano'o barreled in with the rest of the pile, nearly slamming his petite comrade.

"In here!" hissed Lothíriel, grabbing the two by the shirtsleeves and pulling them into another room. A heavy, dusty cloth smacked Rin in the face as she was dragged through the threshhold, causing her to cough and sneeze. After shaking her head and blinking her eyes to rid them of the dust, she saw that a small fire had been started in a hearth, throwing a dim light across the room.

"Let's hide the bundles around the building," she suggested, covering several with a moth-eaten blanket. "We cannot linger here and I must return to the Houses of Healing,"

"That's a thought," muttered Susano'o apprecitivly, finding a trapdoor and tossing the bundles of wood under it, not realizing that it led to the city's underbelly.

"Sorry!" apologized the genin in a stage whisper after being cursed at by the people below.

The brunette medic simply shook her head at her comrade's antics and returned to throwing more bundles into an upper level of the house. Suddenly, they heard muffled voices outside the house. Without hesitation, Lothíriel grabbed the half-empty wine bottle and drenched the fire with it, much to its owner's dismay.

"Let's go!" hissed the healer, fleeing through a back door. Rin grabbed the mourning alcoholic by his bandages and dragged him after their running guide. A scream peirced through the air, prompting the medic to pick up her pace, releasing Susano'o in the process. Suddenly, she slammed into a body.

"What do we have here?" growled the old man, who grabbed her wrist before the kunoichi could make a break for it. "Two little wood stealers,"

"Wood stealers?" cried Lothíriel, indignant. "We are two healers searching for some spare rags and cloth for the Houses of Healing. The battle is not even over and we are already running low,"

"You can tell that to Lord Denethor after you tell us where the wood is," the old man said coldly, putting a very firm hand on the healer's shoulder and steering the two toward the gate.

"We found the wood!" a youthful voice called from inside the building the two ladies were just in. The two young men walked out with all the bundles, much to the petite medic's great disappointment. "Now let's get this to the steward before he has our heads,"

Rin was forced to walk through the now opened gate, which led to a long stone bridge, linking the main body of the city to a part of it that was situated on the mountain. The young medic looked up at her companion, who's face was set in a mask of stubborness. They crossed the bridge, and walked along a quiet stone road. Finally, the odd group briefly stopped in front of an open door that led to a warmly lit underground building.

"The Silent Street," whispered Lothíriel. "The final resting place for the Kings and Stewards of Gondor,"

The medic swallowed heavily as they were shoved in, preying that things would end well.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Pippin blinked in surprise as he watched, from behind a piller, three men carrying bundles of wood guide Rin and a dark-haired woman into the elaborate tomb.

"Why are they here?" he wondered aloud, creeping closer to the warmly lit entrance. Without a peep, the hobbit entered the Silent Street and settled in an alcove, hidden from the other people present.

"My lord," said a gruff voice. "These two were caught stealing the wood, though they protest that they were only searching for spare cloth for bandages,"

The Steward did not respond to the accusation, but continued to murmur nonsense that blended with the sounds of cracking and snapping wood. From the noises made, it seemed that the bundles of sticks were being stacked.

"Lord Denethor," said a softly accented voice. "Faramir is..."

"Do not trouble me with information I already know!" snapped the man sorrowfully. "Your cousin is dead, and there is nothing that can be done,"

Overcome with curiosity, Pippin poked his head out of his hiding spot to see several of the men lift up Faramir and place him on the half complete pyre. Once laid there, his father cradled his face.

"The house of his spirit crumbles. He is burning. Already burning,"

"With fever, Lord Denethor," said Rin. "He needs medical attention,"

"Your shinobi magic will not save him," snarled the grieving Steward. "He is beyond any help,"

The petite brunette scowled and reached over to put a hand on Faramir's chest. "As long as his heart beats, he lives. You have no right to pronounce him dead,"

There was a sudden cry and a _thud_ as Rin was back-handed by the enraged Denethor and fell to the floor. "Curb your tongue, or I shall do it for you! No matter what we do, the city will fall," the man pulled a palantír from his sleeve. The Took was too far away to see the image it displayed, but the dark-haired woman gasped, and the girl's eye's widened. "What a mercy it is that Faramir died before the end comes to be,"

Pippin shook his curly head. "No, NO!" rushing from his hiding place, the young hobbit began to pull the wood away from Faramir. "He's not dead! HE'S NOT DEAD!" he screamed as Denethor grabbed him and dragged him out of the Silent Street.

"Farewell Peregrin, son of Paladin," said the Steward before throwing him out the door. "I release you from my service. Go now and die in what way seems best to you,"

The doors slammed shut in his face, frusterating the hobbit. "Now what?" he said, punching the ground.

"Now you go find Gandalf,"

Pippin leapt to his feet, seeing Susano'o standing by several vases of oil, which were hidden under a ratty blanket. The raspy-voiced boy smiled. "Don't worry, Rin and Lady whats-her-face won't let Faramir-_taicho_ burn to a crisp. But go find Gandalf if you really want to make sure that he stays alive,"

Nodding, the hobbit took off. Across the bridge and through the gate, Pippin ran.

"Gandalf?" he cried, searching all the levels, and peeking into every ally until he finally caught a glimpse of his white clothes. Relieved, he ran toward the wizard.

"Gandalf, Gandalf!" he cried, catching his attention. "Denethor has lost his mind. He's burning Faramir alive! Or at least he is trying to. Susano'o, Rin and someone else are stalling him,"

The Istari's eyes widened, and he scooped up Pippin and placed him on Shadowfax's back. The hobbit was mildly surprised to be grabbed up with Hoshi, who was placed behind him, and wondered what the boy was doing here.

"We must make haste if we are to reach them in time," said Gandalf, mounting the _Mearas_ and spurring the white horse off to the Silent Street. The animal's hooves rang against the stone-paved streets as they raced through the city's levels to save Faramir. They emerged from a tunnel, only to have their way blocked by none other than the Witch King and his steed. Shadowfax reared slightly as the fell beast alighted on the ground before them, and Pippin felt Hoshi slid off the horse's back. Put on the defensive, Gandalf readied his staff and declared:

"Go back to the abyss! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your master!"

"Do you not know death when you see it, old man?" sneered the armored black rider as his steed menaced Shadowfax. "This is my hour!" It drew its horrible sword and held it aloft, upon which it burst into flames. The air curled toward the blade, and the atmosphere was thick with fear. Pippin was cowering behind Gandalf, and Hoshi, who was standing beside the white _Mearas _was covering his pointed ears and chanting panickedly in Elvish. The White wizard lifted his staff higher and prepared himself for any spell the wraith might cast. However, he hadn't prepared for the distruction of his staff . Both hobbit and wizard were blown off the stallion's back, tumbling to the ground. Pippin recovered quickly and was far enough away from harm, but the Istari lay prone before the Fell beast.

"Gandalf!" he cried in warning as the beast lumbered closer to him. As the wizard tried to sit up, the beast roared at him, knocking him back down. But the beast's roar turned into a squeal of pain as a nest of needles appeared in its tender mouth. Pippin looked at Hoshi, who had shaken off his fear.

"Leave my city and never come back," he snarled.

The Witch King cackled at the lanky boy's bold command. "Who are you to command me?" it rasped proudly. The child did not respond, instead, he removed a whistle from his pouch and blew it. When nothing happened, the wraith turned its attention back to the fallen Istari.

"You have failed," it gloated. "The world of men will fall," As the Witch King lifted its sword again, a horn blew. Reluctantly, the wraith guided its just as reluctant steed away from them, taking off to face the newer and greater threat. Seconds later, Hoshi's armored falcon landed right where the Fell beast was moments ago.

_«"I smell those flying snakes,"»_ snapped the falcon as the tall shinobi helped Gandalf up. _«"What happened?"»_

"The only thing of note is that the Rohirrim have arrived, and my comrades with them," answered Hoshi, who climbed on the great bird's back. The elf-like boy yawned and shook his head. "I hope everyone had a good night's rest, though it is nice to see a bit of the sun," he murmured as the armored raptor prepared to take off.

"Wait!" cried Pippin, rather confused. "Where are you going?"

"I need to find my brother, Kakashi and Anko. I picked up some Intel that they need to know," he answered, just as the falcon took off. The Took blinked, then a smile crossed his face.

"That means Merry is here!" he whispered, delighted.

"Come, Peregrin Took!" said Gandalf, scooping up the hobbit yet again. "We don't have any time to waste,"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Obito was glad that they had finally stopped moving. The Uchiha attempted to stifle a yawn, but when his warg yawned as well he did not see the point.

"Are we here?" asked Anko, craning her neck to try and look over the other's heads.

"Yes," whispered Eowyn, her face pale. Merry didn't look any better, his eyes wide with fear.

"Courage, Merry," whispered the Shieldmaiden. "Courage for our friends,"

There was the sound of wingbeats ahead as something landed. Obito attempted to stand up in the makeshift saddle, but nearly tumbled to the ground.

"Hoshi is still alive," commented Kakashi, who was standing on Rocky's grey back.

A smile crossed the goggle-wearer's face. "Thank goodness," he said, relieved. "Is he bringing Thèoden up to speed?"

"It seems so," answered the Hatake, pausing briefly. "It looks like he wants to talk to us,"

"Is that his bird?" whispered Merry, his eyes glued to the unseen falcon. Once again Obito tried to stand up and failed.

"That big armored thing?" said Anko, standing on Cookie's speckled back. "Yeah, that's his summon,"

"Wow," murmured the hobbit in awe. Obito, however, was frustrated.

"How come you two can stand on your wargs' backs while I can't?" he complained.

"Why, do you need a better view?"

The Uchiha yelped and nearly fell off his mount. Hoshi, who had just appeared in front of him, gave him a faint smile.

"Don't do that!" he snapped, readjusting his goggles. Kakashi dropped back into his saddle.

"What Intel have you received?" asked the masked chūnin.

"Three chūnin from Suna have allied themselves with either men from Harad or the Easterlings," Hoshi said flatly. "They were with Yuu,"

A wave of hatred ran through Obito. "That bastard!" he snarled, his hands curling into a fist. "Where the hell is he?"

"Dead," his brother answered shortly.

"That's all well and good," said Anko, interrupting before Obito could add anything to Hoshi's remark. "But if these are the guys I am thinking of, don't they have a giant lizard?"

The Uchiha and his teamates groaned, remembering the incident in which they met the Suna shinobi. "This isn't good," grumbled Kakashi.

In the corner of his eye, Obito could see the worried looks the Rohirrim were giving them. Eowyn's pale face blanched even more at the mention of a giant lizard. Someone tapped his blue-clad shoulder.

"Excuse me," asked Merry timidly when the Uchiha turned around. "But how big is this lizard?"

Obito closed his eyes, trying to think of a comparison that would make sense to the hobbit. "If you lay the Orthanc down horizontally, it's at least half as long as it. It's at least a quarter of the tower's height,"

The Bradybuck looked like he was going to be sick. Hoshi sighed.

"Do not worry, it will not be your battle," the pointy-eared boy soothed. "I have to take my leave, but stay strong,"

With a hand seal and a flicker, the tall genin disappeared.

The Uchiha inhaled deeply, listening for a command. He heard Thèoden's voice, ringing out through the air.

"Arise! Arise riders of Theoden. Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered, a sword day, a red day ere the sun rises!"

Obito was thrumming with anticipation, his fists clenching on the edge of the saddle. The Rohirrim lowered the spears, preparing for the charge. Eowyn whispered something to Merry, but he was unable to catch it.

"Ride now, ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending!" cried the king, continuing his pep talk. The wargs growled and their hackles rose in anticipation. Kakashi leaned over to Obito.

"Watch for arrows and pikes," he whispered. The Uchiha nodded, shaking slightly with all the energy he had.

"Death!" yelled Thèoden.

"Death!" roared the army in return.

"Death!" he screamed again.

"Death!" they cried again. Obito looked at his comrades, how seemed to be as confused as he was. Why wasn't the king yelling something more encouraging, like "Victory"?

"DEATH!" yelled the king for a third time.

"DEATH!" roared the Rohirrim, who clearly had been pumped up to an aggressive state.

"Death!" screamed Merry and Eowyn, finally joining in with the men. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Obito joined with his own cry.

_*__"Victory!"* _he screamed, slightly surprised when Kakashi and Anko joined him. The screams of a falcon and albatross mingled in the air, prompting Obito to look up. Two seabirds and a falcon were diving toward the orcs. Fed up with missing the action, the Uchiha tried for a final time to stand on his warg. His dark eyes widened as he watched the three birds, clutching what had to be the longest stave of wood in existance, knock down the first ten rows of the army.

"Forth Eorlingas!" cried Thèoden. The horns were blown, ringing out in the dawn air. The birds dropped the stave and flew back toward what had to be the coolist looking city ever. Obito shook his head and plopped down into his saddle.

_"Focus, Obito,"_ a mental voice that sounded suspiciously like sensei said. He urged his warg into a walk, then a jog, then a full on run as the horses charged down the hill they were on, some of their riders yelling like madmen. A few arrows flew by, but none did serious damage. The Uchiha quickly lowered his goggles, and took out the longest blade he had, a tantō. Kakashi has a hand on his, while Anko had a full-blown katana.

_*__"Remember!"* _screamed the kunoichi._ *"Keep an eye on Ice princess!"*_

Then they slammed into the apposing army.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN:**

**Thank you very much MWkillkenny84 and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you Koijiro Kunai for favoriting my previous two works!**

**DreamingIn2Eternity= Thank you for spotting my mistake! I have a love/hate relationship with similar-sounding words...**

**I am actually in the Netherlands right now, and for the reader of this story from there, lovely country! And to the readers of Spain, Austria, Ireland, Germany, France, and Canada, lovely countries as well! For all the countries I haven't mentioned, I would love to visit each one of them. **

**Sorry for the short work, but it's better than nothing...I hope. **

**Thanks for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Rin could only stand by and watch as Denethor poured a jug of "oil" over his head. The Steward had clearly lost his mind, but those who could stop him refused to. Lothíriel became complacent after seeing the image in the palantír, surprising the medic.<p>

"Lothíriel," she whispered. "I did tell you that the large beast is friends with my teacher, so that means the ships are our allies,"

The woman nodded, a defeated look on her face. "What difference does it make?" she murmured. "Mithrandir won't get here in time,"

The brunette sighed. She had noticed Faramir twich when a drop of water fell on his face. Worry filled her veins, and she began to wring her hands in her apron. Susano'o had planned on the men using the oil on the wood, but so far the replacement water had only been used on Faramir and Denethor. Where was Gandalf, Pippin and Hoshi?

The Steward threw the jug off to the side, nearly missing Lothíriel, who yelped softly.

"Set fire to our flesh," commanded Denethor to the four soldiers, bearing torches. He raised his arms up as they walked forward, looking like a crucified figure. As the torches were lowered to the wood, Rin turned away and covered her ears. Lothíriel had done the same, not bothering to wipe away the tears that ran down her cheeks.

Suddenly, the doors flew open with a _bang!_, revealing Gandalf and Pippin on Shadowfax.

"Stay this madness!" cried the wizard.

Denethor, livid with anger, snatched a torch from one of the soldiers.

"You may triumph in the field of battle for a day," he hissed. "But against the power that has risen in the east, there is no victory!"

The Steward pulled the palantír from his robes, showing the Istari the same scene he showed the healer and medic. Gandalf paled slightly, causing the man to smirk before dropping the torch. The wood ignited instantly.

"No!" cried Rin, hurling herself at Denethor, knocking him off the pyre. The palantír flew from his grasp, and rolled toward Lothíriel's feet. The dark-haired healer grabbed the seeing stone and wrapped it up in her shawl. The medic crawled off the Steward, who appeared to be stunned. Rin herself was rather dizzy, and ended up sitting on the ground, attempting to recover from her light-headedness. The flames had surrounded Faramir as Shadowfax ran up to it. Brave Pippin jumped onto the burning pyre and pushed Faramir off it. The unconscience man rolled to the floor, however an edge of his clothes caught fire. Regaining her head, the medic grabbed a nearby jug of water and poured it on the fire, putting it out. Just at that time, Denethor stood up and grabbed Pippin.

"No!" he cried. "You will not take my son from me!"

Rin had just about had it with the Steward. Rushing forward, she began to hit the man in the arms with the metal jug.

"Let go of him!" she cried, punctuating each word with a blow. Suddenly, the medic was pulled back by Lothíriel, away from the crazy lord. Her eyes widened as Shadowfax kicked Denethor onto the pyre, just as his son stirred and opened his eyes.

"Faramir!" the Steward whispered joyfully, before realizing that he was engulfed in flames. With a strangled cry, he stood up, a silhouette of fire, and ran out the door.

"So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion," remarked Gandalf, with a note of sadness in his voice.

Rin payed no heed to the Steward's death. Instead, she and the healer lunged toward Faramir, who was now conscience.

"Cousin?" he whispered, a bemused look on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Shh," murmured Lothíriel, tears of relief rolling down her face. "Everything is going to be alright,"

"Physically," grumbled the medic, doing a quick check up of the feverish man. "If we get him to the Houses, now,"

"I'll bring him," said Gandalf, motioning for some soldiers to lift him up. As they were situating Faramir on Shadowfax's back, Hoshi ran in, out of breath.

"Rin, you need to come down to the Pelennor, stat!" he said. "Also, where is the palantír?"

The petite brunette was confused and worried. "What's going on?"

"Some Suna nin have joined up with the Haradim," he explained impatiently. "And both people have very large animals at their disposal. We need every hand we have. Where is the palantír!"

Lothíriel gave Hoshi a guarded look. "Why do you want it?" she asked.

"So I can return it to the Tower!" snapped the pointy-eared boy.

"There is no need for you to return the seeing stone to the Tower," rebuked the Istari. "Take Rin to your comrades, I will take care of the palantír,"

The Uchiha nodded, satisfied. "Let's go, Rin," he said, beckoning with his head. Standing up, the medic hurried after her teammate, trailing behind the fast-paced boy.

"Are we flying down?" she asked nervously, looking at the slippery stone roofs.

"Yes," he answered as they exited the tomb. "Why, do you have a problem flying?"

A large falcon covered in woven armor waited in the courtyard. Looking at the sleek bird, Rin shook her head.

"No, but the roofs here are rather slippery, so I would not like to climb down," she said as Hoshi climbed onto its back. The wavy-haired boy raised an eyebrow and offered her a hand up, which she accepted.

"Funny, Kuro and Susano'o said the same thing," he commented as the brunette settled herself, gripping tightly to the woven armor. "Which is quite strange, because it's easier to roof jump here than in Konoha,"

The falcon took to the air, gliding down toward the raging battle below. Rin squeezed her eyes shut, not caring to look upon the dizzying sight below.

_*"Miu, look after Rin,"*_

The befuddled medic opened her eyes just in time to see Hoshi release gallons of water from a scroll while weaving seals for a jutsu. The water transformed into a terrible wave, and her teammate jumped onto its crest and rode the water as it swallowed up the fleeing orcs. Even at the low height, Rin felt rather queasy, and returned to blindly cluching to the edge of the frayed armor.

_"I hope battle ends soon," _she thought as Miu landed.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Charging at the enemy was not a shinobi tactic. In fact, it went against their logic. However, Kakashi was finding that such a tactic was incredibly satistfying, seeing as the orcs were being slaughtered by the hundreds and fleeing from them. Kunai, shurikin and senbon flew from the three shinobi as they charged through the crowd of _oni_. The screams of trampled orcs mingled with the shouts of men, the whinnies of horses and the clanging of metal against metal. The masked chūnin urged Rocky forward, trampling an _oni _underfoot.

"What's the plan?" cried Obito, stabbing an attacking orcs in the throat.

The Hatake looked around. They seemed to have reached the very front of the column, and subsequently left Anko behind. A smile appeared under his mask.

"Use whatever jutsu you like," he said, removing his father's tantō from it's sheath.

Seconds later a giant fireball was sent barreling toward the _oni _in front of them, sending the army into a mass panic. Kakashi darted in, slashing and stabbing. Orcs died left and right, most exploding when they came into contact with the trail of white chakra it left behind.

_"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!"_

The silver-haired boy yelped in shock as a wave of water came crashing down beside him, knocking Rocky off his feet. It was a miracle that his leg wasn't trapped under the soggy warg's body. Infuriated, the chūnin looked up to see Hoshi riding the wave, taking out his escaping enemies with several well placed senbon. He got to his feet, looking down at his soaked clothes in disgust.

"Drive them to the river!" cried Eomer, quite close to the miserable shinobi.

_"No need to drive them," _thought the Hatake as the men surged forward._ "They seem to be running just fine,"_

"Looks like someone got caught in Hoshi's jutsu,"

Kakashi turned to his left to see Susano'o, standing smugly with an umbrella in one hand and a flask of sake in another.

_*__"Shinobi, to me!"*_ Hoshi cried, perched on a falcon's head.

The Hatake shot a glare at his companion. "Shut up," he grumbled sourly, before whistling for his warg and jumping on it's back. The bandaged boy shrugged and they darted through the horses, joining up with the pointy-eared genin. Thèoden stood nearby, and Eomer was within earshot. Anko, Eowyn and Merry were nowhere to be seen. At the falcon's weaponed feet stood Rin, Kuro and Obito on his warg.

"That was over quickly," remarked Kuro, staring at the running orcs.

"Too quickly," muttered Rin, her eyes narrowing.

A strange noise drew the masked chūnin's attention from across the plain. Through a haze of dust, he could make out the shapes of gigantic creatures, walking in a line. Thèoden's jaw had dropped in shock, surprising the Hatake. However, his attention was immediately drawn back to the huge creatures.

"Mûmakil, or oliphants," Hoshi answered the unspoken question. "This will be tricky,"

The wind seemed to kick up, blowing dust and sand into their eyes. Kakashi's dark eyes scanned the battlefield, searching for the Suna nin. A horn was blown, and he could hear snippits of chanting.

"There they are!" Rin cried, pointing toward one of the richly painted Mûmakil that walked ahead of the rest. Atop its head sat two kunoichi and one shinobi. The silver-haired boy's eyes narrowed with anger when they came to rest upon them. Obito full-out snarled, accompanied by his warg. The beast they were riding appeared to be smaller than its breathren, but the long, curved tusks were more wicked-looking, and it was decorated with kunai and wire instead of wood and rope.

"That's their summon, under a _henge_," muttered Kuro, before turning to Hoshi. "So, little cousin, now what?"

The pointy-eared boy's eyes were closed and he was muttering under his breath, before his eyes snapped open.

"There's Easterling infantry approaching from the southeast!" he cried, a stunned look on his face. "Thèoden King, your people can handle them better than the situation here!"

The horselord nodded. "Are they upon us?" he asked.

"They will be soon!" Hoshi answered. "Get into position, hurry!"

The king nodded, but not before he gave the panicking shinobi a stern look. Nobody ordered Thèoden of Rohan around.

"Eomer, have your èored guard the left flank," he ordered before riding out. "Eorlingas, to me!"

With a roar, the calvery shifted south, ready to meet the new challenge. Kakashi noted a shift in the creature's formation.

"They are moving to attack the Rohirrim," he warned his teammate. The tall boy nodded and stood up, his _Guan Dao_ in hand.

"Attack their drivers and aim for their heads," said the now-grim shinobi. "If you can get past Sho,"

The aformentioned Suna nin stood up and removed a giant folding fan from his back. The Hatake slid off Rocky's back, his eyes not leaving the brown-haired teen.

"Go to Anko," he whispered. The warg licked his hand and trotted off to find the kunoichi. Obito did the same, and both shinobi settled into a defensive stance.

"Hoshi and I will distract them by air," murmured Susano'o, bringing a whistle to his lips. " The rest of you must try to kill the lizard or the oliphants,"

_*"Hai,"*_ uttered the chūnin, his agreement joined by the rest of his comrades. The Konoha nin watched the Suna shinobi closely, waiting for the hint of movement.

"When Sho moves his fan," said Kakashi. "We attack,"

Suddenly, he struck out. *"_Wind Scythe!"*_

The chūnin, caught off guard by the attack, could do nothing more than hit the ground and hope that the blades of air would miss him and anybody behind him. The harsh and stinging winds howled above him, stirring up dust and sand. He hoped that Hoshi and Susano'o had flown free of the attack, and that the others were fine. But there wasn't any time to worry about the genin. The Hatake stood up and charged toward the Mûmakil, completely disregarding the disguised lizard, which was under fierce attack by the two bird summoners. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kuro, Obito, and Rin doing the same thing, which surprised him.

_"I guess the Mûmakil are the easier prey,"_ he thought, removing a kunai from his pouch and sheathing

his father's tantō. Choosing his opponant from the line, the silver-haired shinobi promptly ran up its long, prehensile nose. The beast did not react well to this; it flicked the worm-like appendage around and stumbled around when it couldn't shake the masked boy off. It took all of Kakashi's chakra control and balancing skills to keep running up to the head. The men, noticing that they had gained an unwanted passenger, fired arrows at him, all which were covered in a thick clear poison. Dodging the arrows, the Hatake leapt up to the head and stabbed the elaboratly painted driver in the chest. Seizing the reins from the man's clenched hands, the chūnin made a hard left, attampting to throw the archers off balance. The Mûmakil lost its footing and fell to the ground, taking the beast out of action. Most of the men, however, survived the manuver, and were furious. With blood-curdling cries, they jumped out of their basket-like saddle, curved swords drawn. Suddenly, they were blown away by a strong wind, sending them tumbling into another Mûmakil's legs, crushing many. Taken aback, Kakashi turned to see the source of the jutsu.

_*__"Sho, you baka!"* _shrieked a dark-haired kunoichi. _*"You just hit our allies!"*_

The _henge_ had worn off, revealing a yellow-headed lizard covered in dull green scales. It was whirling around in confusion, searching angerly for its avian tormentors. As a result, it was knocking over several of the Mûmakil, making the girl's angry statement rather hypocritical.

_*__"Maybe if you could control your lizard I wouldn't have hit them in the first place!"*_ retorted the fan whielder. Kakashi took a moment to put his head in his hand. Just as he remembered, their teamwork was atrocious. How Yuu ever got the three to work together was a mystery to him. Blinking, the chūnin looked up at the lizard again.

"Hoshi!" he cried as his teamate ran by, luring some men into a trap. "One of the kunoichi is missing!"

The lanky boy skidded to a stop as the soldiers chasing him began to shout in confusion. "The puppetter? Oh, Rin noticed and is tailing her right now,"

The masked shinobi nodded skeptically, not quite believing his teammate. A booming bellow reminded the Hatake that there were more Mûmakil to take care of.

"Don't get squashed, Scarecrow," Hoshi said absently, watching the men fight each other.

"And I hope that you don't die of fright," he grumbled in return. Nabbing a spool of wire from the adopted Uchiha's pouch, Kakashi ran off to tie some of the pillar-like legs together.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity, GlidingOne and KP02 for the lovely reviews! Also thank you to DreamingIn2Eternity, GlidingOne and KP02 for following/alerting/whatever it is called these days. Another thanks goes to the favoriters: GlidingOne and WhiteCat2011. (Kojiro Kun, sorry for misspelling your name)**

**KP02=Thanks! I only hope I haven't made the poor prince Sue-ish. **

**GlidingOne= Aw, shucks. It's nice to see you again.**

**I am SO sorry! This should have been done far earlier. But you don't want to hear my excuses, do you? (If you do, say so in a review ^-^) **

**Thanks for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Gandalf stood at the ramparts above the gate, observing the ongoing battle. Minas Tirith and her guard had escaped the seige with a miraculously low number of casualties, soldier or civilian, and a handful of damaged buildings. Small groups of civilians were allowed out of their shelters to streach their legs, but none seemed eager to return to their homes.<p>

_"It is better they stay where they are," _thought the Istari._ "The tide of the battle could turn against our favor,"_

He heard the sound of unclad feet approaching him. Looking down, he gave Pippin a brief smile.

"They are still debating if they should remove the barricade to the gate, aren't they?" said the hobbit with a resigned smile on his face.

The White Wizard chuckled slightly. The young Took, along with much of Gondor's guard, was eager to join the Rohirrim on the fields, but couldn't unless they removed the barrier. However, Iorlas and the rest of the captains were adament about keeping the makeshift 'gate' in place until the battle had ended. After playing with the possible scenarios and talking to Hoshi's splendid summon, Gandalf ended up siding with the Captains.

"Well, I hope that they will finally make their decision and allow us out," remarked Pippin, climbing atop a crate to look out upon the fighting riders and fleeing orcs.

"It is best that we do not join the battle, Peregrin," the Istari said softly, as their former attackers were chased toward the river. The hobbit shot him a look as the Rohirrim came to a standstill. Just as he opened his mouth, a horn was blown. Pippin's eyes widened and Gandalf surpressed his amusement, looking back across the fields. The wizard sombered immediatly upon seeing their new foe. The men at the gate below had ceased their bickering and had climbed up to the battlements, bewildered.

"The Haradim have come," he declared solemnly, answering their unasked query. _"On Mûmakil, no less,"_ he added silently. Many Rohirrim were going to lose their lives in the attempt to bring the beasts down. But instead of charging at the Mûmakil, they headed southeast. The Istari was taken aback; completely at a loss as to what prompted the move. The air churned and the sound of pumping wings heralded Kublai's landing; while soldiers scrambled away to make room for the falcon lord. The wizard winced at the sound of metal scraping against stone as the bird settled on the battlements.

_«"An army of Easterlings approaches from the southeast,"» _reported the raptor, gazing down at the lands in front of them. _«"Fortunately, Hoshi noticed them and sent the Horselords to intercept them. They consist of an infantry of 6,000 men and two of those oli-whatsits. I suggest stay inside the city and prepare for the wounded. Only remove part of the barricade. No matter how good your intentions are, the Gondorians will only get in the way,"»_

Gandalf nodded in understanding. "What will you be doing, Kublai?" he asked, looking up at the falcon.

The Peregrine's shadowed eyes curved into a smile. _«"I have an old friend to visit,"» _he answered cryptically, before taking off, following the Anduin south. The White wizard sighed.

"Come Pippin," he said to the hobbit, "I believe that it's time for second breakfast,"

The young Took nodded, shooting a worried glance out at the Rohirrim before following the Istari.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

_"The bards lied," _Eowyn thought bitterly. _"There is no glory in war," _When they had first arrived to the battle, the Shieldmaiden felt fear constrict her chest as she looked upon the army of beasts before her. But she pushed it into a corner, surpressing it with encouraging thoughts and yells as they charged at their enemies. It was driven further away with each rush of exhileration brought on by the death of each orc, courtesy of her blade. However, when the fighting stopped, the horror of it all came crashing down upon her like an avalanche. She had finally managed to get her trembling under control as the Rohirrim repositioned themselves southeast of the White City.

_"Let's go murder the leige lord's daughter!_

_Let's go murder the lord's daughter!_

_Let's go murder the leige lord's daughter, E'rly in the mornin'!" _Anko sang, trying to keep her two companion's spirits up. Eowyn was wholly envious of the young girl. The foreigner was perfectly at ease in the melee, and even seemed to be cheerful about the whole thing. But what had touched her the most was that Anko had thought that she wasn't initially going only because she was inexperianced, not because she was a women.

_"Chop her neck with a rusty razor!_

_Chop her neck with a rusty razor!_

_Chop her neck with a rusty razor, E'rly in the mornin'!"_

"Will you stop singing?" cried Merry, an anxious look on his face. Anko looked hurt by the demand.

"What's wrong with it?" she asked, injured. "I don't think my voice was that bad,"

"Your voice was fine," clarified the hobbit. "The song wasn't,"

" 'Cause a song about murder is completely out of place on a battlefield," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. They came to a stop, which seemed to confuse the shinobi. Carefully balancing so she wouldn't fall, Anko stood on her warg's speckled back. The girl peered over helmeted heads to look southeast, making a noise of surprise as her mouth curved into a sly smile. Anko glanced over to Thèoden and Eomer, the latter who was hefting his spear. Curiosity got the better of Eowyn, and she followed the shinobi's gaze. The White Lady's eyes widened as she saw two oliphants charging toward them, looking more fearsome than the others they saw earlier. A panicked expression crossed Merry's face when he noticed the animals.

_"Of course it would be more terrifying for Merry," _thought the Shieldmaiden idly._ "The beasts are even bigger compared to him,"_

Eowyn looked back to Anko, who seemed to be counting down to something. The oliphants kept getting closer and closer; slowly, the purple-haired girl's smile turned into a frown.

"If he wasn't setting a trap, what was he doing there?" she wondered aloud, worry coloring her tone. Just as the Shieldmaiden was about to ask who she was talking about, a foreign shout peirced the air. Eowyn turned her attention to the oliphants, and was surprised to see that one of the drivers had been killed by a familiar spear. The man's richly painted body tumbled off it's seat, pulling on the reins that were attached to the beast's ears. With a groan, the oliphant's head was forced into a bow as it turned, running toward it's companion. Squeaks and squeals of excitement, surpressed by a fist, were emitted by Anko as the animal's tusked head slammed into the other's front legs, causing it to crash down upon the unfortunate oliphant.

"Yahoo!" hollered the strange girl, punching the air. "That is how you do it! That is how it is done you S. ! Ya-HOO!"

Anko was not alone in her exclamations, though she was certainly the loudest. Eowyn could barely discern her Uncle's command to charge forward through the clamor made by the men and Merry.

"Hey, _yuki-hime_," called the shinobi as they surged forward. "Your brother is my new hero!"

_"So that's who killed the oliphant," _the Shieldmaiden thought with a smile. "I wouldn't tell him that," she warned. "His ego might get so big he wouldn't be able to stand. But he would appreciate it,"

Anko laughed as they approached the oliphants' massive carcasses, prompting a choice.

"Left or right?" asked Merry. Just as the hobbit presented the question, _something _jumped out of carcass, causing Anko to give a shout. Windfola, her beloved horse, veered to the left, away from Anko and the strange object. Eowyn, fearing for her friend, turned to steer her steed back toward the strange girl, ready to help her. However, it seemed that Anko didn't need her help. The strange wooden doll, which had attacked the female shinobi, already had its arms ripped off, revealing numerous metal tubes. Anko was now dodging the doll's bladed legs, which dripped with a clear poison. Cookie growled at the wooden thing, but did not approach it.

"C'mon cowardly Kin!" she taunted, kicking the legs out from under the doll. "Why hide an ugly face behind an uglier puppet?"

Eowyn, watching the fight, swore she heard a growl emit from within the oliphants, but thought nothing of it. Anko whielded her sword with a clumsy grace, using it to decapitate her enemy. The doll collapsed, broken. The violet-haired girl relaxed her stance and wiped her brow causally.

"Anko, look out!" cried Merry, pointing at the liberated arms. Confused, she noticed too late the pair of wooden limbs fly toward her and seize her throat. Frighted, Eowyn looked wildly around for help, only to find that she was the only one left. Leaping off her horse, she ran over to the choaking girl. Grabbing the wooden palm, the Shieldmaiden began to pry the tightly clenched fingers off Anko's throat. The sound of barking nearly distracted her as she succeeded to remove the one hand, which thrashed around in her grip.

"Eowyn!" cried a shocked voice.

The White Lady looked up in surprise to see Rin approaching her with the other two wargs. The hands abruptly ceased to work, falling to the ground. Anko rubbed her throat, gasping for breath.

"Perfect timing," she gasped gratefully. "I was about to pass out,"

The short-haired brunette looked around. "Where is the rest of the army?" she asked.

"Not too far ahead," answered Merry, with an anxious look on his face.

Rin gave him a brief nod, her features showing a worried look. She opened her mouth to say something...

"Let's go!" cried Anko, cutting off her comrade as she jumped onto her warg's back. Eowyn ran over and mounted Windfola, kicking herself for missing out on most of the battle.

"Wait!" protested the petite girl, before being swept up by one of the wargs with a yelp. "Wait! Stop! We might be riding into a trap!" she cried, holding onto the beast for dear life.

However, the Shieldmaiden paid little attention to Rin's warnings. Instead, she drew her sword, ready to enter the fray screaming.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

The blast of sharp wind howled over Rin as she ducked to avoid Sho's attack. Rubbing the grit out of her eyes, the petite brunette got to her feet and ran past the now-enraged summon, who was being harassed by Hoshi, Susano'o and their birds. Dodging the creature's smashing feet, Rin picked out a target from the lineup. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Obito, Kuro and Kakashi doing the same. Pulling a few tagged kunai from her pouch, she hurled them at the piller-like legs. The medic was rewarded with the bellows of pain and the rumble of earth beneith her sandels as one of the beasts collapsed.

"Brilliant, Rin!" shouted Susano'o as he dodged a poorly performed wind technique, returning the 'gift' in the form of a water bullet. But the petite brunette did not have time to watch others fight. Adopting a defensive stance, she waited for the angry men to climb out of their elaborate saddle. Without so much as a warning, another Mûmakil, its saddle a virtual fireball, toppled down, falling within inches of her blue sandels. Seconds later, Obito and Kuro slid down its back, looking quite pleased with themselves.

"Hey, watch it!" she snapped, shaken by the move. "That nearly crushed me!"

"Sorry Rin," apologized Obito, rubbing the back of his head. "But all we did was cut it's spinal cord and set the basket-thingy on fire,"

Kuro nodded fiercely, hiding his confusion well. "Something hit its side..." he explained, his sentance trailing off. Raising a hand, he pointed at something.

"What the hell?"

Rin followed his finger to see what appeared to be no less than ten Haradian dancing in a circle around a musician, and cursing the entire time. A flute played a lively tune, performed by none other than Uchiha Hoshi. The circle broke apart and reformed into a kick-line, allowing for the pointy-eared genin to stroll over to his comrades. Rin swore that the men aimed their perfectly syncronized kicks at her teammate. The tune ended on a jazzy note, accompanyed by the obilgatory jazz hands, before they collapsed snoring. Lowering the flute, Hoshi waltzed over to the astonished trio.

"You've been waiting to do that, haven't you?" stated Obito, a resigned look on his face. His brother nodded, giving them a shy, guilty smile.

Kuro sighed. "Well props for choreographing a musical number in the middle of a battle. But you were trying to get our attention, weren't you?"

Her teammate's smile vanished. "Kin took off," he said flatly. "after the Rohirrim,"

Any amusement they were feeling vanished. "The puppeteer?" asked Rin, worried.

The tall boy's pale face lit up. "You recognize her? Do you think you can fight her?" he asked eagerly.

The medic blinked. "I don't see why not," she said, remembering the Suna kunoichi.

"Great!" exclaimed Hoshi with relief. "Can you go after her?"

"I would, but I can't track," she pointed out. The lanky genin waved the problem away.

"Just follow the wargs. They'll lead you to where you need to be," he said cryptically. The brunette turned to the other two Uchiha. Kuro shrugged, but Obito wore a thoughtful look.

"Kakashi and I sent them to Anko," he said. "They should be within-"

The goggles wearer's sentance was quickly made moot when Rocky unceremoniously slammed into Rin, causing her to fall onto its saddled back with a little scream. The Uchihas quickly became small dots as the grey warg galloped after the Rohirrim, soon joined by its companion. The medic's knuckles turned white as she gripped the saddle, determined not to fall off

"Let me get off!" she yelled. "Let me get off, I can walk!"

Rocky skidded to a halt, almost throwing his unwilling rider off. With an irritated sigh, the kunoichi dismounted, giving the wargs a look. They stared back at her before taking off, much to Rin's displeasure.

"Hey, wait up!" she cried, running after the ugly hounds. The small hills surrounding the area annoyed the brunette, mostly because they prevented her from seeing everything. The wargs were waiting on the crest of one, barking at the something below. Jogging up to join them, her eyes landed on a scene playing out alongside the enormous bodies of two Mûmakil. A pair of wooden arms, controlled by faint chakra strings, were attempting to strangle Anko. A Rider was prying at the gold-colored fingers, but to no avail, while Merry watched helplessly from horseback.

"No!" she whispered, running over to her comrade. Rin scanned the carcass, searching for the puppeteer. She removed a kunai from her pouch just as the Rider pulled one of the murderous hands off the violet-haired kunoich's throat. Something was familiar about the Rider, but she couldn't put a finger on what. The medic caught a flash of gold from within the large painted bodies. Not wanting to take any chances, Rin threw the kunai. A muffled cry came from within the depths, but the arms continued to operate. Desperate, the petite brunette turned to the Rider. Then it hit her.

"Eowyn!" she cried, shocked. The Rider looked at her, just as both arms went limp and fell to the ground. Anko gasped, gulping oxygen as she rubbed her throat.

"Perfect timing," she gasped, her face an expression of gratitute. "I was about to pass out,"

Something was not right. Rin looked around and asked:

"Where is the rest of the army?"

"Not too far ahead," answered Merry anxiously, looking out past the Mûmakil. The medic gave him a nod of thanks. Inhaling, Rin was about to voice her concerns when Anko, boisterous as ever, cut her off.

"Let's go!" the kunoichi exclaimed as leapt on Cookie's back. Eowyn seemed to be just as eager as her comrade; as she ran toward and quickly mounted her horse. The Shieldmaiden looked quite upset, probably because she was missing out on the battle, and did not waste a minute urging her steed forward. Rin was not happy.

"Wait!" she cried as Anko quickly followed the White Lady. Predictibly, Rocky swept her back onto his back without awarning. Regaining her composure, the medic tried to slow her companions.

"Wait!" she protested as the warg caught up to them. "Stop! We might be riding into a trap!"

"A trap?" asked Merry, a worried look on his face. The sounds of battle were already filling her ears; they were coming upon them, fast.

Anko snorted "Rin, stop being so paranoid. There can't be any traps because the Rohirrim should have already triggered them,"

The hobbit's eyes widened. "Jump!" he cried, tugging on the reins. Reacting quickly to the command, the horse leapt over a barely visible wire. The wargs, noticing the obstacle, jumped over it, unharmed. Eowyn did appear to have even noticed the tripwire, her icy eyes focused on the battle ahead. Rin gleefully gave the Snake Sannin's student a I-told-you-so look. The hyperactive kunoichi sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You win. So, what's the plan?"

The brunette blinked in surprise. "I was told to go after Kin, but I think she is after you,"

Anko seemed to be both flattered and befuddled. "Why would she go after me? What did I do to earn that 'honor'?"

"Because you are a girl,"

The two kunoichi yelped in surprise when Hoshi appeared between them, riding on the nameless warg.

"What the hell?" cried Anko, cheesed off at being surprised.

"I want you both to keep an eye on Eowyn and Thèoden King," he said quickly as they got closer to the edge of the battle. "Keep Kin away from Eowyn at all costs, please,"

Rin gave her teammate a wary look. "Why?" she asked, noticing Merry listening it, curious.

"I will explain later," he said, closing his eyes briefly. Waving his hand, a row of senbon appeared between his fingers. "For now, I will get you to Thèoden,"

Rin looked at the Easterlings. They wore golden horned helmets (not unlike a samurai's), jagged bronze armor, and carried a spear. Their new opponants also covered their faces. Anko was grinning fiercly.

"The Rohirrim are doing pretty well, eh?" she said, cracking her knuckles.

"But so are the Easterlings," countered the brunette. Eowyn looked down to her.

"Is there a plan?" she asked softly.

"Stay close to me and stay alive," the petite medic answered as they entered the fray.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN:**

**Thank you GlidingOne and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you to PrettyKitty77 and Leapinglemur for following both me and my stories. Another thank you goes to marmotul and Leapinglemur for favoriting. **

**Goodness gracious, I am taking too long to update! But Real Life seems to hate me right now... But I shall stop the kvetching. **

**Thank you all for the support, and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Eldarion sat off to the edge of the battle field with Kublai by his side, watching the Rohirrim fight.<p>

_**"Aren't you going to join them?"**_ asked the falcon, a hit of curiosity in his tone. The Gondorian waved his hand absently.

"I left a clone behind in the city, and Miu is with him. If you actually look, I _am _in the fight,"

_**"You mean your clone is,"**_ he pointed out. _**"Isn't this rather cowardly?"**_

The prince grit his teeth. "I was planning on finding Sensei and Ada, but you know what, I'll participate directly, just for you," he snapped sarcastically.

Kublai either missed the sarcasm or pretended it wasn't there. _**"Hop on then," **_he said pleasantly._** "No sense in wasting time,"**_

Concluding that things would end better if he went with the deadly bird, Eldarion climbed onto his back. Just as the Peregrine was about to take off, the genin noticed something.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Something is approaching from the southeast,"

Climbing up to the raptor's helmet, the adopted Uchiha looked to the right of the sun. Light glinted off the metal of enemy weapons and armor as two Mûmakil led an host of Easterlings toward Minas Tirith.

_"Sh__*t"_ he cursed, sliding off Kublai's armored back. "Kublai-_sama_, do you think you could contact my clone?"

_«"Now why should I do that? Can't you do it?"»_ asked the falcon lord aloud, slightly confused.

Eldarion threw his hands in the air. "Why does everyone think I am a Yamanaka?" he cried, frustrated. "I can only guess what someone is thinking and know if they are telling the truth, not communicate with them! You can contact Miu, and she can share the message with my clone. Please, Kublai-_sama_?"

The Peregrine seemed to sigh. «_"I will go inform Gandalf after I do that. What are you going to do?"»_

The pointy-eared shinobi cracked his knuckles. "I will thin out the Easterling's ranks a bit. And if my clone does what I think it is going to do, then I will stick around and help the Rohirrim for a bit,"

Kublai nodded. «_"Don't strain yourself too much,"»_ he cautioned, closing his gleaming eyes briefly before taking off to the White City. Eldarion inhaled deeply, carefully gathering his chakra.

_"Kage Bunshin no jutsu,"_

A clone appeared before him, fidgeting with his necklace. "H-hello,"

The elf-like prince felt like 'faceplaming'. "I suppose it's about time you show up," he commented, resigned. The majority of his clones tended to be braver, smarter and more pragmatic versions of him. But there was this one clone that popped up roughly 10% of the time, and it was particularly timid and easily frightened. Because this perticular clone appeared so often, Eldarion ended up giving it a name.

"What would you like me to do?" asked Mausu, looking at his feet.

_"Hmm, he could go find Ada and Sensei,"_ the lanky shinobi thought. _"There is no sense in keeping him here,"_

"Why don't you go find Minato-sensei and the others?" he proposed. "It would be nice if you could get them here faster,"

The mousy clone seemed to be delighted by the idea. "What a brilliant plan!" he cried, bowing deeply to him. "I'll go straight away!"

He took off at a surprising speed, following the Anduin south. Eldarion blinked, slightly taken aback.

"Well, he's eager to leave," he muttered. Carefully reaching into his slowly depleting supply of chakra, the elf-like boy cloaked himself in a camouflage technique. He climbed to the top of a nearby hill, which presented him with a generous view of his enemy.

_"No less than a mile from here,"_ he calculated briefly. _"But they are moving quite fast for such a large number,"_

The dark-haired boy looked back to the Pelennor, seeing the Rohirrim move toward him as the Mûmakil began their attack.

_"So my clone must have received the message,"_ he thought, relieved. Reaching into his weapons pouch, Eldarion removed a scroll of weapons. "I might as well assist them," he said to himself

Using every lesson in stealth he learned, the adopted Uchiha approached a rear column. Darting in between a gap, he strew the ground with _Makibashi_, accidently dropping an explosive tag in the middle.

_"Sh*t!" _ he swore, running out of the gap while letting more _Makibashi _drop out of the scroll. Just as he escaped, the tag exploded. Screams filled the air as something hit his back, causing the lanky genin to lose balance and fall to the ground. Shaking off his fall, Eldarion looked behind him, curious as to what hit him. A wave of horror and nausea englufed the shinobi when he saw limbs, fingers, guts, even torsos littering the the ground behind him. The scene around him dimmed, and his ears filled with the sounds of a different fight.

_"No, no! Focus!" _ he hissed to himself. _"This is for the greater good! Do not go under!_ "

The sounds left, but the grungy scenery lingered, unnerving the prince. Taking a deep breath, Eldarion retreated away from the disoriented Easterlings. As color returned to his eyes, the tall genin glanced at the front of the host. But something was off.

_"Where are the Mûmakil?"_ he wondered. Suddenly the answered dawned on him.

"The Rohirrim!" he gasped, clapping his hands over his mouth when he remembered that others could still hear him. Deciding that he didn't have a moment to waste, Eldarion ran off after to Mûmakil. It was not difficult to find the large, brightly painted beasts, which were headed in the exact same direction the tall Uchiha came from. Channeling a small amount of chakra into his legs, the lanky boy quickly caught up with the Mûmakil, just as the Rohirrim came into sight. His grey eyes scanned the calvery, looking for a certain man.

_"ah Ha!"_

Eldarion ran over to Eomer, relieved to have found him.

"Eomer!" he hissed, looking up at the tall rider. A surprised look appeared on the man's face, which turned wary as he searched for the source of voice.

"Who is calling me?" he asked cautiously.

"Me, Hoshi! I'm down here, but I do not expect for you to see me,"

Eomer's dark eyes finally settled on the lanky shinobi's face. "Ah, there you are. So, do you know of a way to dispose of this fearsome beast?"

Eldarion, realizing that his camouflage technique had run its course, turned to gaze briefly at their advancing enemies. The angle at which they were approaching in relation to the Eomer's position worked in favor of the move that he was going to make. Inhaling deeply, the pointy-eared genin place a small genjutsu on the Rohir, making a small shurb appear on the rolling plain before them. Eomer's eyes narrowed skeptically upon noticing the new plant, but otherwise he said nothing.

"Listen carefully. When the Mûmakil closest to us is next to that shrub, kill its driver,"

The blonde man nodded, a smirk appearing on his face. "I see," he said. "You might want to get out of the way. The Easterlings are just ahead, correct?"

The elf-like boy jumped slightly. "Oh, yes. Aim true, for I am not keen on attempting to stop them myself. I shall see you later," Seeing the wisdom in sitting on the sidelines, Eldarion hastened away from the dangerous hooves. He ran back to where the Easterlings were, choosing to rest behind a conveniently place rock.

Dropping down onto the ground, he released a sigh. His sight dimmed again, prompting the Uchiha to grit his teeth.

_"Dammit! My chakra cannot be that low! I barely have a scrape on me! Nobody I sympathized with has died! Focus, Focus!"_

The bellow of a distressed Mûmakil rang through the air, quickly followed by a rumble and a roaring cheer (he swore he could hear Anko whooping). A small smile crossed Eldarion's pale face.

_"And so Eomer felled two of the beasts with one spear,"_ he murmured, pleased. The ground rumbled faintly as the Rohirrim charged forward, ready to clash with the infantry of Easterlings. It appeared that their enemy had not been expecting heavy calvery, because from what he could see from his position, the Riders were cutting them down like ripe wheat. It certainly helped that a couple columns were incompacitated by his. His sight was slowly returning to normal, but old scenes began to flicker across his vision, like the moving pictures Obito had once shown him.

"What is wrong with me?" he murmured, instictivly reaching for a bundle of dried athelas and holding the crumbling leaves close to his nose. As Eldarion inhaled their unique smell, his sight finally cleared.

_"Odd,"_ he though. _"That never worked before,"_

Frowning, the tall shinobi got to his feet and looked back at the fallen Mûmakil. He could make out three human forms, three wargs and a mounted hobbit.

_"Merry, Eowyn and Anko,"_ he identified. _"But who is the fourth?"_

The odd group mounted (or was swept up by) their steeds and rode off to join the new battle. But as they left, something crawled out of the carcass and trailed the four. Something told Eldarion that this was one of the Suna shinobi. Moving closer to them, he could see that it was a tall, well-developed blonde kunoichi in her late teens: Kin. Wishing that he had not left his Elvish cloak back in Minas Tirith, the dark-haired boy quickly and cautiously approached the puppeteer.

_"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu,"_

He threw her into the genjutsu, hoping that it would slow the kunoichi down for a time. If he remembered correctly, this perticular illusion did not affect her much. Inhaling deeply, he darted around her and ran to catch up with his comrades, only to fall flat on his face.

"Blasted trip wire," he grumbled, quickly picking himself up and reached the small group again, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"You win. So, what's the plan?" Anko half grumbled, half asked.

"I was told to go after Kin, but I think she is after you," That was Rin, who seemed to have been sent to nuetralize the puppeteer. Picking up the pace, Eldarion ran directly behind Obito's warg.

The hyperactive girl seemed to be both flattered and befuddled. "Why would she go after me? What did I do to earn that 'honor'?"

A wave of horrible realization flooded over the adopted Uchiha. Flickering onto the ugly hound's back, he answered her question.

"Because you are a girl,"

The two girls yelped in surprise, making Eldarion wonder why they didn't notice him. But that really didn't matter, not with the upcoming circumstances.

"What the hell?" cried Anko, angry that she was caught off guard.

"I want you both to keep an eye on Eowyn and Thèoden King," he ordered quickly as they got closer to the edge of the battle. "Keep Kin away from Eowyn at all costs, please,"

Rin gave him a suspicious look. "Why?" she asked, her eyes briefly flicking over to Merry, who was listening.

How he wanted to explain! But most unfortunately, there wasn't enough time.

"I will explain later," the pointy-eared shinobi said, closing his eyes briefly. Waving his hand, a row of senbon appeared between his fingers. "For now, I will get you to Thèoden. _And hope that the Witch King hasn't struck yet,_"

Rin and Merry seemed to drink in the information, while Eowyn appeared to not have heard a word. Anko was too excited to pay attention.

"The Rohirrim are doing pretty well, eh?" she said, cracking her knuckles.

"But so are the Easterlings," countered his teammate.

_"Not for long,"_ Eldarion thought grimly, as they entered the fray.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Minato relaxed on Gamabunta's enormous head as he pulled the captured ships up the river. The toad boss was in a surprisingly good mood, despite Legolas losing his composure and attempting to attack "One of Morgoth's hidden creations" as he had put it. The shinigami had cackled throughout the whole thing, which had not helped with the poor elf's state of mind. Fortunately, the archer had managed to get a hold of himself and even apologized to 'Bunta. Gimli and Aragorn had yet to meet Gamabunta, but he hoped that they were calmer than Legolas.

_«"Hey kid, we have a problem,"»_

Minato sat up, worried. "What is...oh no," Blocking their way was the charred remains of a flotilla of ships. Jumping back onto their ship, he walked over to Legolas, who was gazing into the woods at their right.

"We have a group of wrecked ships blocking the river, do you know who they might belong to?"

Aragorn chose that moment to appear on deck. "Wrecked ships?" he asked, a bemused look on his face. Seeing the effective barrier, his grey eyes widened in horror. "They belong to the principalities on the coast of Gondor, namely Dol Amroth," he answered.

A loud _CRACK_ snapped through the air, causing them all to jump. A wave of chakra soon followed, as if a genjutsu had been broken. The three looked at one another, than at the woods.

"Aragorn and I will go investigate. Legolas, you do not mind staying on board?" proposed the spiky-haired jōnin.

The elf shook his head. "It is not a problem. Do you need a gangplank?"

Minato was about to say no when he remembered Aragorn. Surprisingly, the tall man shook his head.

"I do not think that it will be necessary," he said. "We are not that far off the ground,"

With a sheepish shrug, the Yellow Flash turned and jumped off the boat. The ranger was correct; the ground was barely a hobbit-height away from deck. Aragorn landed right next to him, a wary look in his old grey eyes. With a nod, the quietly crept into the woods. It didn't take long for them to run into someone, rather, a great many someones.

"Soldiers from the south coast," murmured the ranger, as they hid behind a tree, relief coloring his voice.

"They seem to be busy with something," commented Minato as the men bustled around, most wearing a disgruntled look on their face.

"Thorongil?"

A tall, dark-haired man was looking directly at Aragorn, an expression of imperceptible disbelief on his face.

"Lord Imrahil!" greeted the ranger, a cheerful look on his normally grim face. "How have you been? Many years have passed since I have last set eyes upon you,"

"Indeed," returned the lord. "It is good that you have returned to aid Gondor in this fight, though I must ask you to help me with a small problem of my own. Please follow me,"

Minato was slightly miffed that Imrahil had ignored him, but followed the two men into a camp of sorts. Finally, they stopped at the foot of a large tree that was surrounded by guards. Imrahil pointed up into the branches.

"My men and I happened to have been subject to an enchantment which put us to sleep for three days that was fortunately broken not a few minutes ago. We believe that we have found the one responsible for the spell," he explained.

The jōnin's eyes widened. "Mausu! What are you doing here?"

The timid clone moved away from the upper inner branches and eagerly climbed down to the lowest branch.

"Sensei! Hoshi wanted me to get you, A-Aragorn and the others to the battlefield, ASAP! Yuu of Suna and the rest of his team has shown up. Yuu is dead, but the rest..." he trailed off shyly, fiddling with his necklace

Aragorn blinked in surprise. "Mausu? He looks just like Hoshi,"

"That's because he is a clone of Hoshi's," explained the Yellow Flash. "He just happens to have a distinct personality,"

"You know this person?" asked Imrahil, looking lost.

The tall ranger nodded. "He is a temporary copy of one of Minato's students and most likely the person who broke that enchantment,"

A sheepish look crossed the man's face. "I am sorry about that misunderstanding," he apologized. "While I would like to know who did this, I believe the matter is inconsequental. You mentioned a battle?"

Mausu nodded fiercely. "Yes! It would be lovely if you and your men could come as well. I just happen to need those who I mentioned to come with me now,"

The lord briefly considered the clone's words. "As soon as we can load the boats, we'll leave straight away,"

Mausu appeared to be gladded by his words and jumped out of the tree before curiously studying Aragorn. But before Imrahil could give any orders, A tall young soldier, clearly related to the lord, ran up to him.

"My lord, there is something you should see,"

‡‡‡*‡‡‡*‡‡‡

Minato was doing his best to stifle his laughter. But the expressions on his companion's faces were priceless.

"What happened?" Imrahil gasped out in horror. "What happened to the boats?"

Aragorn, however, was rendered mute by the prescense of Gamabunta. The toad boss, however, was arguing with a new arrival.

_«"I already told you, you stupid sack of feathers! Put the f-king boats on the left shore!"»_

_«__"Well I don't see you doing any work, a-hole!"»_ screamed the large falcon. _«__"If you are so f-king powerful, than why can't you shove the them aside?"»_

Gamabunta puffed up, furious. _«__"Do you WANT me to eat you for dinner, you oversided hen?"»_

"Enough!"

Surprised, the small group turned to the stolen ships to see a highly irritated Gimli standing on the bow.

"You two have done nothing but squabble since Kublai arrived!" roared the dwarf. "There is a battle going on and we are missing it! Our help is needed and all you both are doing is delying us! So clear the stupid river and get on with the journey!"

The air hung thick with silent tension as the two great summons stared down the unyeilding dwarf. Suddenly, they began to laugh.

_«__"Ha ha! I like this one!"» _cried the helmeted falcon.

_«"That's right!"» _agreed the scarred toad_. «"Why aren't there more people like him?"»_

Mausu scanned the ships, before turning to Imrahil. "My lord, your men can sail these ships, I presume?"

"Of course we can!" The olive-skinned man seemed to be slightly offended by the implication. "It may not be our preffered vessel, but it is better than no vessel at all,"

"So there are enough ships?"

"Just enough,"

The lanky clone sighed slightly, before looking up as the still-awed Aragorn.

"A-Aragorn, can the dead hold onto things?" he asked shyly, fiddling with his necklace. Imrahil and his companion gave him a strange look.

The ranger blinked, quickly processing the question. "Yes, they should. Why?"

With a satisfied nod, Mausu cupped his hands like a megaphone and yelled:

" 'Bunta! How do you feel about carrying the army of the dead on your back?"

The toad boss stopped pushing the burnt ships onto the shores to stare at the clone.

_«__"How the hell am I supposed to feel?"» _he snapped _«"Just tell me who the corpreal ones are, mouse!"»_

Catching on, Minato looked over to the ships, watching the dead slowly materialize. The Ghost King and the rest of his men did not seem to be as eager as the shinigami, who clapped its grey hands with glee. The jōnin locked eyes with Gimli, and an agreement seemed to pass.

"Minato and Gimli will ride with you," finalized Mausu. "Kublai, you wouldn't mind giving Legolas and A-Aragorn a lift, would you?"

The Peregrine seemed to grin in the bright sun. _«"It would be my pleasure,"»_


	20. Chapter 20

**AN:**

**Thank you Thrae Elddim, GlidingOne, mistyfoxmaid, and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you to Nightblade1021 for favoriting.**

**Dear me, this was late. I hope you all like it, and let me know what is wrong with it! (if you haven't found out already, I tend not to proofread well) **

**Thank you for your support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>The foreigners had always impressed Merry with their fighting abilities. But as they plowed through the battle to reach King Thèoden, the hobbit was in absolute awe of Hoshi, Rin and Anko. With the pointy-eared boy leading the charge and the two girls flanking Eowyn and him, Merry didn't even get close to an enemy.<p>

"There he is!" cried Anko. Sitting up taller in the saddle, the Bradybuck could see King Thèoden a short distance away from them, perched atop his armored horse. There was a sudden cry from Hoshi as his warg suddenly tripped, sending the thin child flying. But Merry was unable to see where he landed, because Windfola stumbled over the unfortunate warg, tossing him into the air. The hobbit hit the unyeilding ground face down, knocking the wind out of him.

"Rally to me! To me!" the Bradybuck heard King Thèoden cry.

_"Eowyn!"_ he thought, panicked. What happened to her when Windfola fell? Merry leapt to his feet and stumbled, disoriented. Out of the blue, _something_ hit him in his right arm. It struck with enough force to knock him back with a cry of pain. When his head cleared (for the most part), Merry became aware of Rin and Anko standing on either side of him, with Cookie snarling in front of him. The hobbit tried to sit upright, but his right arm screamed in protest, unwilling to budge. Merry fell back on what he numbly realized was a horse's corpse.

_*"Now, what was that you called me? Oh, yes, cowardly,"*_

Now, that hobbit finally saw the culprit of the fall. Standing before him was what had to be the most inappropriately dressed teenaged girl he had ever seen. The tall, buxom blonde wore a low-cut robe which barely reached the middle of her thighs, and a pair of inconviantly high, heeled boots that stopped a couple inches below the end of the robe. Her clear round face wore a cold smile and her dark golden eyes were filled with malice.

"Kin," snarled Anko, as she crouched into a defensive position. Cookie growled, her hackles raising. The girl laughed, jostling the grotesque wooded doll at her side. The "puppet", as the foreigners called it, was vaguely human in shape. Its six limbs were covered in miniscule razors, and three demonic heads bared sharp teeth at him. Merry shuddered, deeply disturbed.

A sudden, loud, and dreadfully familiar scream pierced through the air. Out of nowhere, a fell beast dove from the sky, just missing their heads. The ground rumbled as it landed not far behind them, cold air flowing around the three girls and the warg, causing the nightmarish doll to rattle. Rohirrim and Easterlings alike fled from that spot, making the Bradybuck wonder just what was occurring. A thought, barely his own, aburptly entered the hobbit's mind.

"Rin," he hissed to the scared looking brunette, who was looking at the scene behind her. "Take my sword and go find Eowyn,"

She looked as if she was about to protest, but Merry gave her a look. Nodding stiffly, she removed the short blade from its sheath.

_*"Nobody's leaving on my watch,"* _snarled Kin as Rin began to move away. Whipping her hands up, she jerked her doll into life with a horrible rattle. With a furious cry, Anko and her warg leapt into action, Rin running out of sight. The two moved too fast for Merry to keep up, with Anko dodging the doll's attacks and Kin dodging Cookie. Instead, the Bradybuck chose to focus on another question.

_"Where is Hoshi?"_

Merry couldn't see much from where he lay, but he still attempted to find the poor boy. His eyes scanned the battlefield, finding nothing but dead men and horses. But then a splash bright red caught the hobbit's attention.

_"Oh, that poor boy," _

Far off to his right lay Hoshi, who was clearly unconscience. One of his red arm guards hung crookedly on its badly broken limb, which jutted out at an impossible angle. Merry winced, glad that the boy wasn't registering what had to be an enormous amount of pain. His own arm throbbed dully, and his head felt incredibly light. He was constantly yawning, and felt rather drowsy. The hobbit's thoughts were interrupted by an agonized screech, clearly belonging to a Black Rider. But the cry was amazingly drowned out by a nearby howl of grief and rage. Turning he head, Merry could see Anko, cradling Cookie's head as the knife-riddled warg breathed its last. His vision was going dim as the violet-haired girl stood up, the air filled palpable hatred.

"You are going to pay, BITCH!"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Many times throughout his life Aragorn wondered what it would be like to fly. When he was young, he used to fantasize about traveling to distant lands on the backs of eagles. Ever since the Dunedain had met Gandalf, the wizard had never been shy with sharing his experiences in flight with the ranger. He was secretly delighted that Hoshi's clone had asked Kublai to carry him to the battle, instead of having to ride on the foul-mouth behemoth of a toad.

_«"Well, it seems that I have lucked out,"» _commented the enormous falcon lightly, peering down at Legolas and him. _ «__"What do you think, little mouse?"»_

"I put them with you for a reason," said the clone softly as he unfurled a thin scroll. He moved two fingers swiftly over two ink symbols, with exploded into small puffs of smoke. When the haze cleared, it revealed two of the contraptions that Obito wore over his eyes.

"You might want these," continued Mausu, holding the goggles out to the ranger and archer. "It is odd that Hoshi doesn't wear them, but you both might appreciate them. Considering how fast you will be going, I doubt that you would like anything in your eyes..."

He trailed off again. Deciding to heed the clone's advice, Aragorn carefully donned the goggles, keeping them on his forehead for the moment. Legolas did the same, giving Mausu an odd look.

_«"Are you both ready?"»_ asked Kublai, shooting a look at Gamabunta. The toad seemed to be almost ready, much to the Peregrine's displeasure. Both elf and man nodded as the bird lowered himself into a crouch. The two then carefully climbing onto the falcon's armored back.

"Make sure to hold on tightly," advised Mausu as Aragorn lowered the goggles and wrapped his hands with a pair of silken cords near the raptor's neck, sitting in the cross-legged position favored by the shinobi.

Legolas frowed at the small clone. "You are not coming with us?" he asked, sitting down behind the ranger as Kublai stood up and streached his wings.

"No," said Mausu, shaking his head with a small smile. "I will assist Lord Imrahil until he leaves. I cannot fight. Good luck, and have a safe journey,"

The last part of the message was delivered as the powerful raptor jumped into the air, rapidly gaining in height and speed. Legolas, thrown off balance, grabbed onto the nearest sturdy object: Aragorn's shoulder. The ranger himself ended up cluching the edge of the falcon's armor as well as the silken cords. Looking down, the tall man could see the massive Gamabunta swiftly becoming smaller and his curses fainter as they moved further up into the clouds. Kublai chuckled softly.

_**"The day I allow an anphibian beat me in a contest of speed is the day pigs begin to fly,"**_

The raspy voice that echoed through his head would have scared the Dunedain if he were not used to Galadriel. Despite that, Aragorn still found the bird's apparent telepathy to be rather unnerving.

"I did not know it was a race," commented Legolas as he pulled his pair of goggles over his eyes.

The falcon made a pleased noise, climbing higher into the sky. Clouds raced by, even though the wind barely tugged at the two riders' hair, much to their confusion. The elf still kept a firm grip on Aragorn's shoulder as he peered over Kublai's shoulder. The Anduin was steadily becoming a thick ribbon lying on an irregular green-brown blanket of land. Up ahead, Aragorn could see people milling around like ants, churning up a good amount of dust as they fought. The ranger did not like to think what would happen should he fall.

_**"We are almost there," **_announced the Peregrine, flying further up into the sky._**"Only a few minutes more to go. We are to assist the shinobi with some pesky orcs and maybe the odd tusked beast,"**_

Indeed, it wasn't long before Minas Tirith came into sight; the white spire of the tower of Ecthelion raising high above the city of Kings. Aragorn inhaled deeply, filled with an odd sense of calm. He had finally returned, and wasn't intending to leave.

Legolas seemed to ignore his fellow passenger in favor of staring worriedly at the ground far below.

"Kublai, if we are to help the shinobi below, why are we so high above them?"

A few minutes of silance lapsed before the falcon gleefully answered.

_**"You are about to experience the Peregrine's legendary speed. Lie down flat on my back until I tell you otherwise, and hold on to the edge of my armor,"**_

Both ranger and archer took a minute to arrange themselves as the bird had ordered. Legolas gave Aragorn a worried look, which instead was given a comical slant due to the borrowed goggles.

_**"Are you ready?"**_ asked the raptor, pumping his wings upward.

"Yes!" yelled Aragorn, trying to get his voice heard over the sudden squall of the wind.

For a moment there was only the sound of wings pumping and the wind howling. With a screeching cry the Peregrine dropped into a nose-dive. Aragorn could feel his body lift off the falcon's, the wind tugging roughly at his arms. Legolas was attempting to stifle his terror with a yelp, but to no avail. The dangerous thrill of falling out the sky excited the Dunedain. Yelling at the top of his lungs, Aragorn relished in the exhilarating feeling humming in his veins.

_"I am actually flying,"_ he thought, a foolish smile plastered on his face.

_**"Let go!"**_

Kublai's voice roared in his head, jolting the ranger out of his daydream. Legolas, however, seemed to be more on top of the situation.

"Are you mad!?" he cried. But before he could say, Kublai angerly cut him off.

_**"Do it or Die!"**_

With an ultimatum issued, both elf and man released their hold on the raptor's armor. They were pushed backwards by a sharp gust of air, and sent careening through the air. Suddenly, a tail came out of no where and slammed into Aragorn's torso, knocking the wind out of him. However, the ranger managed to hold onto the enormous scaly appendage. As it turned out, he wasn't the only one.

"What the...Are those my goggles?!"

Obito was indignantly clinging to a kunai that was deeply inbedded in the tail's scales. It appeared that the short-haired boy hadn't been on the tail for very long.

"Is that you, Obito?" Legolas' asked, balancing on the top of the now-steady appendage. The shinobi looked up at the elf and said:

"Aw, come on, that isn't even fair," The large smile on Obito's face told them that he wasn't serious.

"Is this a dragon?" asked the archer as he began to crawl toward the animal's head.

"Not even close," answered the Uchiha seriously, without a trace of mockery. "It's a lizard,"

Aragorn and Legolas gave the shinobi a look. "Dragons tend to look like lizards," explained the blonde.

Obito's dark eyes widened under his orange goggles. "Hoshi wasn't joking about them," he whispered, horrified.

Aragorn felt himself slipping ever so slightly, much to his dismay. "Obito, do you have a plan?" he asked.

The blue-clad boy closed his eyes briefly. "Legolas, you go up the tail first, Aragorn, you go second, and I will bring up the rear. Be careful, we are fighting shinobi,"

The ranger and archer shared a worried look. It had been some time since they had sparred with the shinobi, who they knew were going easy on them. They were already at a disadvantage: they were fighting on "terrain" that favored their enemy.

With a grunt, Obito pulled himself up onto the tail, looking at Aragorn expectantly. The man sighed, mimicking the shinobi and hauled himself in front of the boy, gripping the tail with all four limbs.

"Let's go," said the Uchiha.

Legolas practically shot forward, slinking like a cat up the scaly appendage. Not to be wholly outdone by his companion, Aragorn quickly climbed after him. The ranger was surprised by how close they were to the base of the tail, considering how little time it took to reach the lizard's back. While Obito and Legolas chose to stand, Aragorn remained in crouch, still moving forward. The green-scaled animal seemed to be moving forward at a rapid pace, its bulk swaying steadily. After what seemed to be an hour, he reached the lizard's yellow scaled neck. Crawling up it, he finally saw his foes.

_*__"You know, Sho, I could have won this fight a lot faster without your help,"*_ claimed a small, dark-haired girl, who's hair was gathered into a bun.

_*__"Can it, Emi!"*_ snapped a annoyed-looking boy, who was holding a strange club. His face was intricately painted with dark purple markings, and the top his head was wrapped with bandages, with a curtain of cloth hanging around the rest that would reach his shoulders. The wind blew it back, revealing short black hair. Both were in their teens and wore trousers and a brown vest over a long sleeved black shirt. Aragorn made a quick assement of the situation, coming up with a quick plan. Drawing his knife, he attacked the boy. The curved blade sank deep into his opponent's thigh, causing the boy to scream. The girl, noticing the attack, jumped forward. Without thinking, Aragorn swung his leg at her. She barely managed to block the kick, sending her sliding back. The boy who he stabbed aimed a punch at his head. The ranger rolled out of the way, nearly falling off the lizard as he tumbled down its neck. He was stopped by Obito, who was grinning at him.

"Good job, Aragorn," he said with a huge grin as Legolas jumped over him, knives drawn. Aragorn sat up, surprised to see Hoshi, and Kakashi standing beside him. Susano'o and Kuro where nowhere to be seen, which the ranger found odd. The silver-haired boy was giving him an approving look. Hoshi, however, was looking elsewhere.

"Kubali said that Minato-sensei was arriving with backup, but I don't..."

The tall boy was abruptly cut off by a loud **BOOM**. A pained hissing noise soon followed, causing Aragorn to stand up and get a better view of the surroundings. Gamabunta had landed on another enormous lizard's back, crushing its spine. The man's eyes widened when he saw how close the animal was to the gate. He could see the two enemy shinobi freeze, paling when they saw the new arrival. Their eyes suddenly widened, and they shook angerly as they tried to move.

"Obito, Kakashi, take Aragorn and Legolas down and meet up with Minato-sensei," commanded Hoshi.

"Are you sure that you have everything under control?" asked Kakashi, his eyes narrowed and Legolas climbed back down to them.

The grey-eyed boy glared at his teammate as two falcons swooped down towards them. The Hatake sighed rolling his eyes before addressing the two Ardians. "Get ready jump,"

_"Jump?"_ thought Aragorn as the falcons got closer. After a few minutes, the masked boy yelled:

"Jump!"

Deciding to trust the young shinobi, the ranger leapt as far out into the air as he could. He was pleasantly surprised when he felt his feet meet armor as he landed on a falcon's back. He would have slid off if not for Kakashi, who had just landed next to him. As the shinobi pulled him onto the bird's armored back, the Dunedain received an excellent view of the ground below. The Dead Army had dismounted and proceeded to attack any surviving enemies in their path. Now that he was seated safely on the falcon's back, Aragorn noticed that they were dropping in altitude.

"Where are going, Kakashi?" he asked.

"We are going to try and meet up with the Rohirrim," answered the Hatake, who was looking out at the river. "But we might have a problem on our hands,"

The ranger followed his companion's gaze. "Lord Imrahil!" he cried, noticing the ships on the river. "There is no need to worry; they are our allies,"

The masked boy relaxed a fraction, watching the ships unload and move to cut off the Easterling's escape route. Everywhere, orcs were in retreat or being slaughtered. Finally, they landed near the edge of the ongoing struggle between the Rohirrim and the Easterlings. They dismounted, and the falcon disappeared with a puff of smoke

"There yoo are!" cried a raspy voice. Aragorn turned around to see the Ghost king but not the Shinigami, who must be somewhere nearby.

Kakashi gave a yell of absolute terror upon seeing the undead beings. It was soon joined by another terrified cry as Obito and Legolas arrived. In a matter of minutes both boys were on their knees, pleading to the invisible creature.

_*"Please don't eat our souls!"*_

_*"We didn't do anything!"*_

_*"I swear that I didn't mean that insult!"*_

_*"It was just a joke! A little prank, nothing serious!"*_

"Will you two shut up?!" roared a pained voice. The rather confused group turned around to see Minato, Gimli and Hoshi with the two enemy shinobi; both who turned white when they saw the ghosts.

"What in the name of Isildur is going on?" asked Hoshi, who was gripping his right arm tightly. Aragorn walked back toward Minato and put a hand on his shoulder. Legolas did the exact same thing, much the the yellow-haired man's displeasure.

_*"YOOOUUUU!"*_ howled the Shinigami, her eyes bugging out of her head and she pointed a grey finger accusingly at the lanky boy. Hoshi's eyes widened.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Both Obito and Kakashi breathed a sigh a relief. The demonic appiration was still furious.

_*"You're that brat who had me eat that disgusting soul! And you had me babysit another group of whiney spirits!"*_

"How on earth did you get here?" asked the lanky boy, confused.

_*"Shinigami aren't subject to the laws of space and time, _gaki,_"* _she snorted. Aragorn looked to Kakashi, searching for an explanation.

"Hoshi seems to be able to summon her if the conditions are right," said the Hatake with a shurg. "Early on he threatened to summon 'a soul-eating demon' if we weren't nice to him. Of course I though he was joking until that mission with that undertaker... Needless to say, she doesn't like him,"

The Shinigami suddenly rounded on him. "Take cair ove yoor brat, Isildur's heir," she snapped.

Aragorn bristled. "MY brat?" He was getting sick of being mistaken for Hoshi's father. He was unable to see any resemblance between himself and the young Gondorian. They weren't related, so why did others keep insisting that they were?

"Hey!" even Hoshi sounded offended. "I don't mean to be rude, but we have a battle to finish up, and I think my original might be knocked out,"

"You're a clone?" asked Obito, worried.

"Yes," answered his brother shortly. "If you don't mind, I am going to dispel the technique. So please, everyone, try to end this as quickly as you can,"

Everyone looked at each other, then at the battle before them. The army of the dead was waiting for the command to proceed.

Aragorn looked the thin boy in the eye. "We will do our best,"

Satisfied, the clone dissipated. After a moment of silence, Obito roared:

"Charge!"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Rin was terrified of the Nazgûl. It was not the same fear that she held for creatures like Bijūs and Balrogs, or ruthless killers/torturers/rapists; rather, it belonged the unique catagory of fear incarnate. Before Merry had given her his "sword", she had watched in horror as the Fell Beast seized an unfortunately familiar horse and rider, whirling them around before tossing them to the ground. The medic did not see how Thèoden had landed, but she knew it would be a miracle if the King was only moderately wounded. The short sword, (really a knife) Merry made her take hummed with surpressed energy, which seemed to be closer to natural energy than actual chakra. Currently, Rin cluched the "sword" tightly in her hand as she approached the Fell Beast it was perched on from behind, hiding near its tail as she looked for Eowyn. The petite brunette was unable to see past the creature's bat-like wings, but she was almost positive that Thèoden was somewhere in front of the animal's head. Somebody else as well stood before the Nazgûl.

"I will kill you if you touch him!"

Rin almost dropped her knife in shock. _"What is she doing?!"_ she gaped, dropping to the ground, and crawling under the Fell Beast's wing to look at the desperate Shieldmaiden. _"Is she_ asking_ to get killed?"_

This wraith was more dressed up than the others she had seen during the seige. He wore a long helmet, and it seemed to be crowned in a circle of metal thorns.

_"So this must be the Witch-King of Angmar,"_ she thought, shuddering.

The Witch-King seemed to regard Eowyn as a horse would a fly: a minor annoyance. "Do not come between the Nazgûl and his prey," he hissed coldly, but not cruelly, as if he were commenting on a obvious fact or reciting common knowledge. After a moment of calm, the Fell Beast struck like a snake. Eowyn sidestepped as the creature's head moved past her, presenting its perfectly outsreached neck. Acting quickly, the Shieldmaiden brought her sword down upon its scaly, black neck. Rin, deciding that it would be a better idea for her to move away from the beast, did not see the second blow which cut the creature's head clean off. However, hidden behind a conviently placed pile of charred and managed corpses, the brunette watched the animal collapsed to the ground. Between its twiching wings rose the Witch-King, clearly annoyed. Rin could only just see Eowyn, who had just picked up a wooden shield. Not a moment too soon, for the undead wraith swung the largest spiked ball (_a mace?_) she had ever seen at the White Lady's head. The medic watched, frozen, as Eowyn dodged blow after blow.

_"There isn't an opening yet,"_ she rationalized. _"Wait for an opening,"_

With a shower of splinters, the mace shattered Eowyn's shield, breaking her arm as she lost her balance, falling down upon Thèoden's horse. The Witch-King reached out and grabbed her by the throat, lifted her up.

"You fool," he hissed, gloating. "No man can kill me,"

Fury coursed through Rin's viens. Cleanching Merry's "sword", she darted forward in his blind spot, and brought the blade down on the only chink in his armor she could see. The medic couldn't help but release a cry of pain as a cold fire consumed her arm, the knife rapidly dissolving with a burst of energy. The petite brunette fell back, cluching her numb arm. The wraith fell to his knees, releasing Eowyn as he collapsed. The Shieldmaiden removed her helmet, catching her breath as she did so. She looked furious.

"Fool!" she spat. "Taste the wrath of a woman!"

Without a seconds dely, Eowyn stabbed the Witch-King in the face. A high-pitched crackle of energy screeched from within the cloak and armor, before exploding outward like a shockwave. Eowyn dropped her sword in shock and stumbled backwards, sitting down hard on her uncle's horse. Rin watched in stunned revulsion as the wraith seemed to crumbled in upon himself, his armor denting like someone was pushing it before the shell of metal and robes crumpled to the ground with a dying screech, deviod of sentiance. The medic could feel herself tembling, the dull noises of battle mute in her ears. She stumbled to her feet, making her way over to Thèoden. Eowyn had crawled over to his side, tears in her eyes.

"I know your face,...Eowyn," Thèoden whispered, lifting his hand up to stroak her cheek. "My eyes grow dark,"

The watery smile that had graced her face disappeared. "No, no," she protested. "I'm going to save you,"

"But you already have," insisted the King. "Eowyn, my body is broken. You have to let me go,"

Rin, who was trying to hold back tears, just broke down, sobbing. Eowyn was shaking her head in denial, briefly looking up to the medic, begging her to save her uncle. Rin only could cry harder.

"I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company; I shall not now feel ashamed," murmured Thèoden weakly. He inhaled slowly, looking into his niece's eyes. "Eowyn,"

He did not breath again. The Shieldmaiden, cold and proud, dissolved into tears, sobbing for her Uncle. Everything seemed to quiet down, almost as if they were realizing that a good man was dead. Swallowing her tears, Rin composed herself just enough to sing a farewell, her voice quavering.

_"Haru koro no hana no en_

_Meguru sakazuki kage sashite_

_Chiyo no matsu ga e wake ideshi_

_Mukashi no hikari ima izu ko,"*_

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

***Koojo no Tsuki, first four lines.**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN:**

**Thank you GlidingOne, mistyfoxmaid and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you Agony Born From Bliss and TanukiKun for following. Another thanks goes to ZecoreZecron for favoriting.**

**Well, school starts up next week for me, so please don't think that I have died or this story has been abandoned if nothing comes up for awhile. **

**Thanks for the patience and support, and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>"Well Kakashi, it appears that we are surrounded," Kuro commented lightly as he, Obito, Hoshi and the Hatake stood in Manji formation. The four unlucky boys were encircled by a ring of orcs and two nasty lizards, who were breathing sticky hot air in their faces.<p>

Kakashi couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the situation he was stuck in. Despite felling those stupidly persistant Mûmakil, it didn't stop the _oni _from returning with a vengeance.

"Really?" exclaimed Obito sarcastically as the reptiles moved in closer. "Why, I haven't noticed!"

Hoshi was shaking slightly, his eyes wide with fear as he stared up at the two smirking Suna nin. "I really don't think that now is the time for jokes, _gwador nin_," he said, his voice oddly steady. "Where is Susano'o anyway?"

"Getting rid of all the genjutsus **you** stuck on the barricade," the masked chūnin remarked sourly.

"Yeah!" added Kuro. "Poor Pippin! In fact," the Uchiha perked up. "He might need some counseling, which only I can provide! So, goodbye!"

Before any of them could protest, the medic Shunshin-ed out of the formation, requiring the three to quickly repair the gap.

"That basterd!" growled Obito, frustrated.

"Well, he always said he was one," the silver-haired boy remarked thoughtfully.

"What did I just say a few minutes ago?!" cried Hoshi in a strained voice. "We need a plan and we need it now!"

The orcs moved in closer, hungery looks adorning their hidious features. Obito gulped; the genin was starting to share his brother's fear.

"Listen up," whispered Kakashi hurriedly. "Hoshi and I are going to go on the offensive. Obito, you are to get to the lizard's back and attack to shinobi from behind, got it?"

_*__"Hai,"*_ they whispered in return. Reaching into his back pouch, he removed three smoke bombs.

"Now!" he cried, slamming them into the ground. Kakashi could hear his teammates leap into action as the smoke cloaked them. The _oni_ were growling in confusion, blinded by the ashy screen. Relying on his sense of hearing, the chūnin lunged forward, attacking with his father's tanto. He felt the blade connect, quickly followed by shrieks of pain. Black blood splattered all over him, eating through the cloth of his clothes. Kakashi jumped back as if scalded, hitting someone's back in the process.

"Omph!" grunted Hoshi as he was pushed forward. "Watch it! Honestly, it's like you were back at the Mines,"

With a huff, the disgruntled genin soundlessly disappeared into the smoke. Kakashi scowled at the spot where his teammate was just standing before moving on toward a group of angry orcs.

_"Back at the Mines, eh?"_ he thought scathingly as he threw several shurikin. A melody of dull _thuds_ reached his ears, seconds before a sudden strong gust of chakra-filled wind sent him reeling forward, off-balance. The smoke was blown away, revealing a vaguely smoking ring of dead _oni_.

_"Son of orcs!"_ screamed Hoshi as Emi's lizard whipped around to face the White City. Kakashi followed his teammate's line of sight, confused. The shinobi-free lizard was sprinting toward the city's gates, completely unhindered. Before the Hatake could add his curse, the reptile's head was smashed into the ground by Hoshi's boss summon, just as the other animal's tail swung over their heads. His teammate breathed a sigh of relief, walking up toward the chūnin with a slightly less anxious look on his face.

_"Let's see Lord Gwaihir try that," _he murmured, a small grin crossing his face. The two boys watched the Peregrine stagger out of the crater formed by the impact and sit back on the ground, hard.

"Why didn't your falcon disappear back home?" Kakashi wondered aloud. "He certainly appears to be damaged enough,"

His taller teammate shrugged. "I don't know," he murmured, looking up at the lizard's tail, suddenly starting. "Guess who is on that tail," he whispered, watching the appandage move forward with its owner.

Humoring the pointy-eared boy, Kakashi gazed up at the tail, then looked back at his friend.

"You do know that your dad has always had a good sense of balance, right?" he said, raising a silver eyebrow. "It's a shame he can't use chakra. He would make an excellent shinobi,"

Hoshi sighed through his nose. "Should we join Obito or stay here?" he asked quietly, his grey eyes now fixed on the other lizard that was slowly picking itself up. The air around them stirred with the sound of soft wing beats. Hoshi's other falcon, Miu, landed beside the lanky boy, giving the nearby reptile a wary look.

_«"Master?"» _said the sleek raptor uneasily. _«__"Lord Kublai told me to inform you about the backup Minato-sensei is arriving with. He didn't give any specifics, but he said that it should arrive soon,"»_

"Thank you, Miu," he said gratefully. "Please look after Kublai. When he recovers, come back to me,"

The female bird bowed before taking off to attend to the falcon lord. Kakashi looked back up at Emi's lizard. He could not see Obito, Aragorn and Legolas anymore. The Hatake looked back at his teammate. Once a again, Hoshi was lost in his own little world, mumbling words under his breath.

"Oi, Uchiha," said Kakashi while poking the pale boy in the shoulder. "Let's go join your brother,"

The lanky genin winced, grasping his right arm tightly for a second before letting it go. With a nod, the two shinobi flickered onto the lizard's dull green back.

_*"SARUTOBI ON A STICKY BUN!"* _swore Obito when they appeared beside him. "Don't DO that, Hoshi!" he added, cluching his heart

The pointy eared boy frowned, looking around. "Where's A-Aragorn?" he asked.

"At the lizard's head," answered Legolas. "From the sound of it, he has decided to attack,"

Despite the whistling wind, the masked chūnin could easily hear a cry of pain, quickly followed by the noises of a scuffle.

"Legolas, when Aragorn comes back down, you go in to attack," said Obito. The elf nodded, drawing his knives. As if on cue, the ranger tumbled down the lizard's thick neck, stopping at his blue-clad teammate's feet.

Kakashi did not miss the look of relief on Hoshi's face, before the dark-haired boy looked away.

"Good job, Aragorn," Obito said with a huge grin as Legolas leapted over the tall man's body, racing toward the head.

_"Good job, indeed,"_ thought the Hatake. A chakra-less man had just taken on two chūnin without so much as a scratch to show for it. _"Then again, Sho and Emi never were excellent shinobi,"_

Aragorn sat up, looking vaguely confused. Hoshi was peering angerly at the other lizard, almost refusing to look at the ranger.

"Kubali said that Minato-sensei was arriving with backup," he said. "But I don't..."

The tall genin was abruptly cut off by a loud **BOOM**. Kakashi could feel his eyebrow twich as he saw Gamabunta appear on the back of the lizard by Minas Tirith's gate, crushing the reptile's spine.

_"Did Sensei really need to summon him?"_

In the corner of his eye, the masked chūnin saw Hoshi perform a hand seal, then whistle a couple high frequency notes.

"Obito, Kakashi, take Aragorn and Legolas down and meet up with Minato-sensei and the Rohirrim" commanded Hoshi, his eyes steely.

The silver-haired boy could hear the elf gently slide down the neck, joining them. Kakashi couldn't help but frown at his suddenly determined teammate.

"Are you sure that you have everything under control?" he asked, narrowing his eyes skeptically.

Hoshi abruptly regained his faint aura as he glared at the Hatake. With a sigh, the chūnin rolled his eyes, noting the two incoming falcons.

"Get ready to jump," he grumbled

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Looking back on it, Minato wondered just how he managed to teleport Gamabunta, Gimli, and the whole Army of the Dead along with himself to the battlefield and land exactly on the back of a giant lizard instead of his allies. Said lizard 'Bunta was currently crushing was barely a few yards from the gate of Minas Tirith. As the green ghosts unloaded, Minato took a minute to admire the tiered stone city.

"That's good stone," grunted Gimli. The dwarf had dealt with the transport better than he had expected. Although he looked vaguely ill, the red-bearded axe-whilder had yet to empty his stomach.

"HELLO MINATO-SENSEI!" hollered Kuro from the top of the gate. Pippin, who was standing next to the Uchiha, waved hello to the jōnin and dwarf.

"CAN YOU FIND KAKASHI, HOSHI AND OBITO?" he continued. "I MIGHT HAVE ACCIDENTLY LEFT THEM TO DIE,"

Minato blinked, slightly taken aback. "How do you **accidently** leave people to die?!" he yelled back.

"It is alright, laddie," said Gimli in a soothing tone. "If I happen to be seeing things correctly, that should be them on those falcon's backs,"

Following the dwarf's line of vision, the Yellow Flash looked up to see Kublai and another Peregrine soar past them. He could make out two people on each back, causing him to frown.

"Hoshi isn't there," he said worriedly.

_«"You're right,"» _answered Gamabunta as he shifted away from the white walls. _«"He's on that other lizard"»_

Minato's blue eyes narrowed. " 'Bunta, you wouldn't mind cutting off a lizard's head, right?"

_«"It would be my pleasure,"»_ he answered, the smile clear in his voice. Trusting the toad boss to take care of Gimli, the jōnin activated _Hiaishin. _Only to appear several feet in the air, above the reptile's right eye.

_"Dammit!"_ he cursed, preparing to throw his own kunai. Suddenly, an enormous gust of air pushed him upwards in a stream of blood as Gamabunta's enormous tantō sprouted in the lizard's eye. Flipping through the air, Minato managed to land on the screaming animal's eye ridge as it thrashed around in pain.

"Sensei! Are you alright?"

Hoshi had tied up two of Yuu's students, Emi and Sho, back to back. There was a defiant look in the girl's green eyes as she glared at the jōnin.

"I am just fine," assured the yellow-haired shinobi. He walked over the two chūnin, kneeling down to look at them at eye-level.

"What do you suppose we should do with them?" asked Hoshi, who seemed to be fiddling around with something.

_*"Hey! Get your mitts of my fan!"*_ cried Sho, glaring at the pointy-eared genin. Emi looked Minato directly in the eyes.

_*"Do whatever you want, Leaf-nin!"* _she spat._ *"There is no way in hell that we will yield to you!"*_

_*"What do you mean, Emi?"* _remarked her dark-haired companion._ *"We have already surrendered,"*_

_*"WHAT?!"* _she screamed, turning her head around in an attempt to look her teammate in the eye. _*"When?!"*_

While the two were arguing, Minato took the opportunity to perform _Gogyō Fūin_ on Emi. The dark-haired kunoichi gave a cry of shock as she was cut off from her chakra. Before Sho could do anything, the yellow-haired jōnin repeated the technique.

_*"What the hell, you bastard!"*_ they screamed in unison.

Minato stood up, looking around. Gamabunta seemed to have arrived, and was trying to remove his tantō while the lizard thrashed about, its head oddly still. Without warning, the reptile vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving everyone in mid-air.

_"Oh dear," _he thought, before he began to plummet toward the ground below. The cloud obscured his vision; he couldn't tell where everyone else was. The jōnin looked at the area under him. Oddly enough, there was a dark, bird-like shape flying below him. But the air around it was cold, and filled with the intent to kill. Just as he figured out _what_ was going to break his fall, Minato unceremoniously landed on the back of a fell beast. As he got into a crouch, the Nazgûl turned around and released a screech of outrage. The jōnin gulped, and mustered his courage.

"Yeah, fancy meeting you again," the Yellow Flash responded as sarcastically as he could. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to borrow your steed,"

Before the wraith could even draw his sword, Minato delivered a kick to its side, attempting to knock it out of the saddle.

"Above you, Sensei!" Hoshi screamed. The jōnin looked up for a brief second. The smoke had cleared, revealing the pointy-eared genin. He was holding his _Guan Dao _far over his head, preparing to strike.

"I don't think so!" hissed the Nazgûl. Before Minato could do anything, a spiked metal guantlet seized his throat. He gasped for air, clawing at the metal hand. The Fell Beast screamed, shuddering under his feet. Desperate, Minato pushed against the wraith's arm. As his sight dimmed, he felt a ring on a chain slip onto his finger. The jōnin's mind was promptly assulted by this _voice_, the voice of _pure evil_. The words being whispered were incomprehensible; as they were being uttered, he could feel his mind being probed. Minato was insenced.

_" . Of. My. HEAD!"_ he screamed, attacking the inturder with all his mental might.

In what seemed to be an explosion of color and light, the yellow-haired teacher abruptly came to.

"Sensei! Minato-sensei! Please wake up!" Hoshi was kneeling over him, trying not to cry. The jōnin slowly sat up and rubbed his forehead.

"You gave us quite the scare, laddie," Gimli was leaning on his axe, guarding the two shaken Suna nin. "You were lucky that Gahmabuntah was able to catch you,"

Looking around, it took a couple of minutes for him to register that he was on the ground. The toad boss himself was nowhere in sight.

"What happened, Sensei?" asked his student, the boy's voice quaking. "I just saw you begin to shake, as if you were having a fit. Than the Nazgûl dropped you like a hot coal..."

Minato slowly stood up. He found that he was unable to speak, due to every drop of moisture having fled his mouth.

"Where's 'Bunta?" he croaked. Hoshi looked at Gimli, who shrugged slightly.

"After he snatched these two out of the sky and allowed Hoshi to jump off him, your Summon placed us on the ground an disappeared in a cloud of smoke after mumbling something about being over worked," answered the dwarf.

"Jiraiya-sama probably summoned him," added Hoshi in a weak voice.

The jōnin nodded absently. "And the wraith?"

"I used _Sennen Goroshi _on it after it dropped you," answered the genin, who was cluching his right arm. "And I cleaved the Fell Beast's skull,"

Minato was mildly impressed; Hoshi really was progressing "So now that's taken care of, lets go join up with the rest of the team,"

The pointy-eared boy stood up, a shaky smile on his face. "You are ready, right Gimli?" he asked.

The dwarf grinned and hefted his axe. "Indeed I am!" he declared. "I don't want that Elvish Princeling getting a head start on me!"

Minato turned to the two captured shinobi. _*"Just follow us and behave,"* _he ordered. Defeated, Emi nodded sadly. Sho didn't look as complacent.

_*"Wait a second! Oi, pointy-ears! Where did you put my fan?"*_

"Calm down, I'll give it to you later," Hoshi answered evasively as he headed off towards the east.

_*"I can't understand you!"* _whined the Suna nin as he ran off after the lanky Gondorian. _*"Wait up!"*_

‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡

It took a lot longer than the jōnin expected to find the others. By the time Minato spotted Aragorn and Legolas, Hoshi was on his last nerve. The Yellow Flash couldn't blame him, Sho's constant whining and moaning over the loss of his fan was incredibly annoying. As they approached the two members of the Fellowship, Minato could make out the faint green forms of the Army of the Dead. The Shinigami was looking down bemusedly at Kakashi and Obito, who appeared to be begging for mercy.

_"It seems my hypothesis was correct,"_ though the jōnin as he leapt over a pile of orcs and strolled over to the small group, unnoticed. His students' earnest pleas seemed to blend into each other; Minato could barely discern one from the other.

_*"I swear that I didn't mean that insult!"*_

_*"It was just a joke! A little prank, nothing serious!"*_

"Will you two shut up?!" roared Hoshi, clearly fed up with any sort of plea. The angry and pained declaration had surprised everyone while achieving the desired effect of shutting his teammates up. "What in the name of Isildur is going on?" he asked in a softer tone.

Minato stifled an annoyed sigh as both Aragorn and Legolas put a on his shoulders.

_"Who came up with this awkward rule?"_ he though, trying not to shudder as the Shinigami moved closer to him.

_*"YOOOUUUU!"*_ howled the Shinigami, her yellow eyes bugging out of her head as she pointed a grey finger accusingly at the lanky boy.

Hoshi's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.

Both Obito and Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, clearly glad that they hadn't gotten on their teammate's bad side.

_*"You're that brat who had me eat that disgusting soul!"*_ she raged. _*__"__And you had me babysit another group of whiney spirits!"*_

"How on earth did you get here?" wondered the lanky boy, still mystified by her prescense.

_*"Shinigami aren't subject to the laws of space and time, gaki,"* _she snorted, adding an eyeroll for good measure.

Aragorn turned his head, looking for an explanation as to how Hoshi knew the _yōkai._ Kakashi seemed all to happy to answer.

"Hoshi seems to be able to summon her if the conditions are right," said the Hatake with a shurg. "Early on he threatened to summon 'a soul-eating demon' if we weren't nice to him. Of course I though he was joking until that mission with that undertaker... Needless to say, she doesn't like him,"

_"You could say that again,"_ Minato thought with a shudder. The glare the Shinigami was shooting Hoshi was bone-chilling and creepy. She flipped toward Aragorn, a disapproving look on her grey face.

"Take cair ove yoor brat, Isildur's heir," she snapped, wagging a bony finger at the tall man.

The ranger bristled, clearly offended. "MY brat?"

Hoshi looked as if he had been punched in the gut. Pulling himself together, the thin boy quickly hid his feelings as best he could. But Legolas seemed to notice, and Obito even shot a dirty look at the unwitting Dunedain.

"Hey!" Hoshi cried, trying to hide the hurt in his voice. "I don't mean to be rude, but we have a battle to finish up, and I think my original might be knocked out,"

"You're a clone?" asked Obito, worried.

Minato had noticed that Hoshi looked concussed at times as they moved to meet up with the others, along with the odd gripping of the arm. This explanation made perfect sense.

"Yes," answered his brother shortly. "If you don't mind, I am going to dispel the technique. So please, everyone, try to end this as quickly as you can,"

The yellow-haired jōnin looked at his comrades, then out at the battle before them. It appeared to be winding down, thanks to the timely arrival of Imrahil and his men, and the brave persistance of the Rohirrim. His blue eyes flicked over to the King of the Dead, who was waiting for the command to attack.

Aragorn, deciding to take charge, looked Hoshi in the eye. "We will do our best," he reassured.

The clone released the technique, leaving Minato to wonder just how Aragorn could have missed the betrayed look in those grey eyes.

Suddenly, Obito got tired of waiting and roared: "Charge!"

Minato found himself frozen in place as thousands of ghosts began to run through him, following their leader, leaving the terrified jōnin in the dust.

"Dang it, Obito," he muttered, his eyes fixed on the slowly brightening sky.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN:**

**Thank you Zach of death and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you Zach of Death and sakurastar14 for favoriting. Another thank you goes M. for following this story.**

**Sorry for taking so long, but no promises on faster updates. But reviewing helps. Sorry for any errors, grammatical, spelling, or continuity.**

**But always Thanks for the support and on with the show! **

* * *

><p>The battle was over. Rin watched numbly as ghosts and men rounded up the prisoners; only the humans were spared. The medic stood over Eowyn, who was still grieving over the death of her Uncle. She was draped over Thèoden's chest, her head buried in her arms. Her shoulders were no longer shaking with to silent sobs; in fact, the Shieldmaiden had probably fallen asleep. Rin looked over at Thèoden, who looked off with unseeing eyes.<p>

_"So it is possible to sleep with your eyes open," _thought the brunette dismally. She crouched down and gently closed the horselord's eyes. Her left hand, despite being numb, twiched violently. Rin collapsed to her knees with a gasp as her chakra flooded into her left arm. The limb spasmed and thrashed around as if it didn't belong to her. The medic held her arm in a vice-like grip, scared out of her mind. But as suddenly as it had come, her arm ceased its violent motions and became limp.

"Wha-what just happened?" she said in a small voice. Nobody answered, not even Eowyn. In fact, the blonde did not seem to be sleeping.

"Eowyn?" she whispered, poking the Shieldmaiden in the shoulder. "Ice Princess? Hello!?" she cried, now shaking her left shoulder, jostling her broken arm. Despite the pain the White Lady should be feeling, Eowyn refused to stir. Rin, swallowing panic, carefully turned the armored woman over. Eowyn's pale face was drenched with sweat, and she was burning with a fever. On top of that, she was out cold.

"Oh no," she whispered. Eowyn's symptoms corresponded with Faramir's; meaning that she had been poisoned. The medic swallowed thickly and mustered her chakra to make an assessment of the damage. A bolt of pain surged through her damaged arm. The chakra pressed against the skin, briefly creating extreme pressure in her arm, threatening to explode the limb. Rin was beginning to panic, realizing that she couldn't use any jutsu. She couldn't help Eowyn, who was barely breathing.

"HELP!" she screamed, fear filling her voice. "Help! We need a healer!"

A tall, dark, familiar-looking man ran over to them, closely followed by Eomer.

"What is wrong?" asked the newcomer, a worried look on his noble face as he knelt down beside the brunette.

Eomer, however, froze. "What is my sister doing here?" he asked fearfully, a distressed look on his bloodless face. "What happened to her!?"

"Calm down, this girl would not be asking for help if your sister cannot be rescued," chided the older man gently. He turned to the medic, a kind smile on his face.

"Can you tell me your name, my dear?"

"Rin," she answered strongly. "My name is Rin,"

"Are you not a healer?" accused Eomer roughly as he knelt beside Eowyn.

"I am!" cried Rin. "I just am unable to help her!"

"There is no need to argue," said the other man sternly. "Rin, can you tell us what happened to Eowyn?"

The petite brunette took a deep breath. "Well, we were riding along, taking out the enemy, when her horse took a tumble and threw her off. I am not too sure what happened after that, but then she must have noticed the Witch-King attacking Thèoden King,"

There was a sharp intake of air from the two men, their eyes wide with fear. "The Lord of the Nazgûl?" whispered Eomer.

"Yes," Rin nodded. "He was about to command his steed to eat Thèoden King, but Eowyn stood in front of him and cut off the Fell Beast's neck. After that, he attacked her, and broke her left arm,"

"But how did she kill the Black Captain?" asked the dark-haired man.

Rin blinked, slightly irked that she was forced to omit her involvment. "She stabbed him where his face should be," she answered blithely. "Now, I suggest that you get her to the Houses of Healing. They should be able to help her there,"

The medic was nowhere near surprised when Eomer and his horse took off with Eowyn mere seconds after she finished her sentance.

"Well, this was a surprise," commented the older man. "I have heard of the tradition of Shieldmaidens, but I never thought that they would participate in battle. However, I am more surprised by your presense, Rin,"

"Is it because of my age?" she asked. "My gender, or both?"

He laughed, a familiar pair of eyes closing in amusement. "Both," he answered with a chuckle. "I have never introduced myself. Forgive me, I am Imrahil of Dol Amroth,"

"A pleasure to meet you," she replied with a small bow. The two stood up, Rin rubbing her arm and looking around.

"Do you have comrades you need to find?" Imrahl asked kindly. The medic nodded, flashing back to when Hoshi was tossed from the warg's back.

"Would you like some assistance in locating them?"

"Yes, please," Rin answered softly, a small smile on her face.

"Alright," said the fatherly man with a hint of excitement. "Now, where shall we head first? "

‡‡*‡‡*‡‡*‡‡*‡‡

Rin was getting worried. She was positive that Imrahil had taken her to every corner of the battlefield but the petite medic had not seen so much as a hair of her teammates. Deciding to do a bit of good, Rin performed emergency aid on the badly wounded. Imrahil, who must have been a captain, was constantly receiving reports from three young men, all who had the same familiar blue-grey eyes. After she finished wrapping the bloody head of a Rohir, she stood up and released a despondant sigh.

"Where could they be?" she mused. Just as the words came out of her mouth, a the youngest of the three men ran up to Imrahil.

"What is the trouble?" he asked, a vaguely amused look on his face.

The black-haired messanger paused to catch his breath. "Elphir and I happened across an ongoing fight between two girls. But when we tried to seperate them, they attacked us," he said, confusion flickering across his face.

_"That must be Anko and Kin,"_ Rin thought, relieved.

"Is your brother alright?" Imrahil's words came out in a troubled rush.

"Aye, we were unharmed," answered the man. "That boy, Mausu, his creator saved us. But he needs a healer,"

The medic's eyes widened. "How badly injured is he?" she asked, fearfully.

The messenger winced. "His left arm is badly broken, and he is under the distinct impression that we are by the river Poros. Curiously enough, he asked Elphir how his wife was faring,"

"Where is he?" asked Rin insistantly. "Can you take me to him?"

Looking slightly bewildered, the young man nodded. "You better come too, father," he said, leading them toward Hoshi. It did not take long for them to spot the two fighting girls.

_*"Your breasts are fake!"* _yelled Anko as she dodged a row of kunai

_*"You're just jealous!"*_ retorted the teenaged puppeteer as she hurled shurikin at the Snake Sannin's student. Rin winced at Anko's crude speech, infinately glad that Imrahil and the others couldn't understand a word. Finally, her dark eyes spotted what they had come for. Sitting on a horse carcass was Hoshi, his arm riddled with senbon as he cheerfully talked to a tall, black-haired man in Elvish.

_"My family never stays by the sea for too long because it makes my mother sad. Her relatives went over the sea, you know?"_

"Hoshi!" cried Rin, overjoyed that he was more or less alive. The lankly boy's grey eyes lit up, and he nearly tackled the medic in delight.

"You are okay!" he cried, crushing her with one arm. "I couldn't see you around, and I figured that you were with Merry and Eowyn. Ai, I need your help! I cannot seem to remember where I am, or where everybody is!"

"Ack!" she gasped for breath, prompting the dark-haired boy to release her. A pleasent calming scent wafed into her nose."Calm down. Now, what is the year?"

"New-Reckoning or Shire Reckoning?" he asked, a vaguely distressed look on his face.

Rin pinched her nose. "Never mind. Where do you think were are?"

Hoshi chewed his lip. "Initially, I thought that we were along the Poros and I was going to look for Sannor, but then Kin tried to kill me. Anko stopped her, but I am now confused. How did you get here? Why did I think that you were with Merry and Eowyn when Eowyn is in Ithilien and Merry is in the Shire?"

Imrahil, who was listening to Hoshi with interest, walked over to the two genin.

"Who is currently ruling Gondor?" asked the man.

Hoshi shot him a look of utter disbelief. "Aragorn II Elessar Telacontar," he said slowly, as if he were explaining that fire was hot.

Imrahil's grey-blue eyes widened with surprise and understanding. Rin pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Hoshi, we happen to be stuck on the tail end of the war with Sour-on. You are off by at least a few months,"

The pointy-eared boy lost all color to his face. "Oh," he said in a small voice. "That explains a lot,"

A gentle wind tugged on their clothes as Hoshi chewed his lip, and blinked his eyes rapidly. "So Sannor is dead," he muttered dully.

The petite brunette looked up at Imrahil and his two sons, an apologetic look on her face. The tall man gave her a sad smile.

"Come Elphir, Amrothos," he said. "We need to talk to Mithrandir,"

With a nod of acknowledgement, the three men walked away. Hoshi watched them with a fond look.

"Prince Imrahil is a good man. I like his grandson. But Alphros finds me strange,"

Rin sighed at her teammate and carefully steered him over to the carcass of the horse and sat him down.

"I am sure of that," she said absently. "Now, let me see your arm,"

Before Hoshi attempted to extend his broken arm, Rin saw him reach into a pouch at his side and pull out a bundle of sweet-smelling, dried leaves. He then pulled a sprig from the bundle and pushed it into his mouth. Chewing the leaves, the lanky genin slowly extended his arm.

Rin winced at the sight. His bloody arm guard was the only thing holding the broken arm together. From the looks of it, there was a clean break just above the elbow and in the middle of the forearm; The radius had been broken, but the ulna was merely bruised. Hoshi broke out in sweat, clearly in pain.

"Say, Hoshi," she said as she opened her medical kit. "Why don't you tell me about the battle of Pelennor Fields?"

The grey-eyed boy was about to open his mouth when a cry of utter humiliation rang through the air, quickly followed by Anko howling with laughter. Rin looked over to see the violet-haired genin doubled over in hysterics, cluching Kin's _obi._ The Suna kunoichi was desperately holding her _yukata _closed; unable to use any jutsu, or even move much. Rin pinched the bridge of her nose as her teammate chuckled.

"Well, since you asked, I will tell you about the battle of Pelennor fields," he said softly. "But I must warn you that I am not a good storyteller..."

Rin listened to the tale as she removed his red arm guard and cleaned his bloody arm. He was so engrossed with telling the story that he didn't even flinch as she realined and splinted his arm.

"...and as the Witch-King was choking Eowyn, Merry snuck up behind him and stabbed him with his blade in the back of the knee,"

The medic's head snapped up in shock. "What was that?" she demanded, not quite believing her ears.

Hoshi gave her a confused look. "Merry snuck up behind the Witch-King-"

"He didn't!" cried Rin, feeling offended. "I snuck up behind that thing and stabbed it with Merri's knife,"

"What makes you think that you were the one who did that?" returned Hoshi, a cold look on his face. "I am not saying that you couldn't stab the Witch-King. But there is absolutely no way that occurred. You were not even there!"

The medic felt like hitting her head against a wall. "Hoshi! We are in the War of the Ring or whatever the heck it is called. I was just with Eowyn...Oh my god, Merri! Where is he?!"

Rin couldn't believe that she had forgotten about the hobbit. When she stood up, Hoshi seized her arm.

"Don't leave," he pleaded. "I-I don't want to slip up in front of Ada. Everything is still a jumble, but I know what you just told me isn't good. Pippin will find Merry, so please, stay around,"

The petite medic looked at Hoshi's anxious face. With a sigh, she sat back down next to her pale teammate.

_"I wish Minato-sensei and the rest of the team were here,"_ she thought as Anko and Kin continued to squabble.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Uchiha Obito was worried for his brother. As he ran across the battlefield, the Uchiha could see that the fight was already over. The Rohirrim and the backup were already rounding up the captives, while the Dead disposed of any remaining orcs. Picking his way through the corpses, Obito looked for his brother.

"Hoshi!" he yelled, hoping that the lanky boy would answer.

"Hoshi!" Aragorn cried.

Obito rolled his eyes. He couldn't understand why the ranger was helping him look for his brother. The tall man had made it perfectly clear that he did not want to be associated with the pointy-eared boy.

"HOSHI!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, spooking a couple of nearby horses. The Riders shot him dirty looks as they calmed their steeds.

The Uchiha winced. "Sorry," he said with an apologetic grin, walking away from the grumpy men. As Obito moved away, another horse and Rider seemed to come out of nowhere and nearly ran over him. The black-haired boy jumped back with a shout, falling on his behind.

"Hey, watch it!" he cried. With a scowl, the goggles wearer picked himself off the bloody ground and brushed his pants off. Aragorn approached him, a well-hidden look of meloncoly on his face.

"No luck?" he asked, scouring the battered landscape with his old, grey eyes.

"Not so much as a reprimand for yelling," the genin confessed with a sigh. "Where on earth could he be?"

As he stood there defeated, the sounds of argument reached his ears. More specifically, the unique sound of girls fighting.

_*"Give it back, you flat-chested bitch!"*_

_*"Flat-chested?! I'm _TEN _you Sicko!"*_

Aragorn was looking off to the right, and appeared to be very confused. "What is going on over there?" he wondered aloud.

"Well, we could just walk over there and find out," Obito snapped sarcastically, ignoring the look the tall man shot him. He was in a bad mood, and indignant for his brother, even though such a slight was a sign the ranger was still in the dark about his relation to Hoshi.

As they got closer, the Uchiha noticed that two other people were watching the fight. Their backs were to them, and they sat on what appeared to be the corpse of a horse. A large, relieved grin began to cross Obito's faced as he raced toward the two familiar people.

"Rin! Hoshi!" he cried. The two turned around, affirming that it really was them. Hoshi stood up, and just about tackled the Uchiha when he got close enough.

"Hoshi! Your arm!" scolded Rin, who gave Obito a relieved smile. Obito stole a glimpse of his brother's ruined arm. It appeared to be broken at the wrist and the elbow, and was expertly splinted. Senbon were placed throughout the arm at pressure points, no doubt to relive the immense pain.

"Thank goodness you are here!" declared Hoshi, who seemed determined to squeeze the stuffing out of his foster brother with one arm. "Everything seems like a bad dream! Do you know where we are?"

Before Obito could say anything or Rin could explain, Aragorn answered the tall boy's question.

"The Pelennor, just south of Minas Tirith...Is something the matter?"

Hoshi looked like he had been caught in the middle of a murder. The dark-haired boy was mouthing words, but they refused to come out. He eventually settled with a frustrated groan and released his brother.

"He's a bit confused," explained Rin as she rubbed her right arm. "He knows who we, the shinobi, are, which is a first. But he seems to think that were are in his timeline instead of this one,"

"I'm sixteen years ahead," declared the lanky genin miserably as he collapsed back onto the horse, apparently aware of his problem. His attention was turned back to the ongoing fight, which was between Anko and the puppeteer, Kin.

"What are they arguing about?" asked Aragorn, a frown on his face.

"If I remember correctly, they have been fighting for a long time," answered Hoshi as he removed a senbon from his pouch. "Then Anko stole Kin's belt, and, well, she can't fight without making herself indecent,"

Obito began to laugh, finally drawing the two girls attention.

"What's so funny, Uchiha?" snarled Kin, holding her small yukuta in place. Anko looked from the Uchiha, then to the _obi_ she was holding, then to Kin.

"Oh," she said. "It's funny that you'd be naked of you let go of your robe,"

Aragorn appeared to be genuinely uncomfortable, as did Rin. Hoshi, oddly enough, seemed to merely be tired of the situation.

"For all that is good, just give her back the belt!" he cried. "Her teammates have already surrendered and she knows what will happen if she doesn't surrender. Nobody has the desire to see Kin without her robe,"

"Hey!"

Hoshi winced as he added another needle to his bloody arm, causing Obito to look over to Team 7's medic.

_*"Rin," *_ he muttered as quietly as he could. _*"Why couldn't you heal Hoshi's arm?"*_

The brunette looked around before yanking the Uchiha down to sit next to her. Flicking her brown eyes furtively at their teammate the cupped her hand against Obito's ear.

_*"We have a problem,"* _she whispered_. *"Merri was incompacitated, but wanted to help Eowyn, so he gave me his odd little sword. Eowyn was defending Thèoden King;"* _her voice cracked, but she pulled herself together. _*" fighting against the Witch-King,"*_

Obito's black eyes widened. _*"Did she kill it?"* _he asked.

_*"Only after I stabbed him behind the knee to get him to let go of her,"* _she answered. _*"But here's the thing, _Merri _is known for killing the Witch-King. In fact, it appears that Kin was sent to prevent any hobbits and kunoichi from fighting the Witch-King. She didn't expect a woman from Middle Earth to actually join the battle. The point is, I cannot take credit for my part in battle,"*_ Rin finished bitterly.

_*"Okay,"*_ said Obito, a bit taken aback. _*"But what does that have to do with your arm?"*_

Rin rolled up her sleeve. Her arm was a pasty white and webbed with thin black veins. _*"It appeared after I stabbed the Witch-King. Something is blocking off my chakra system, and nothing I can do has fixed the problem,"*_

Aragorn walked over to Rin, knelt down and took up her arm. "How did you get this?" he asked with a frown on his face.

"Uh, Kin's puppet had this poison on the weapons and a needle hit me in the arm," she lied, a sheepish grin on her face.

Aragorn gave her a skeptical look before pulling her sleeve back down. "Then that girl must have access to dark magic," he muttered, standing up. "Both you and Hoshi need to get to the Houses of Healing. Obito, you keep an eye on them. Anko, try not to fight with your prisoner. I need to talk with Gandalf and Imrahil,"

Obito made a face as the tall man walked off. "Tch, who does he think he is, ordering us around?" he grumbled. Everyone stared at him, stunned.

"He is heir to the Crown of Gondor and Arnor," snapped Hoshi, a pained and offended look on his face. "And he is right. Come, let's find Sensei,"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Gandalf had left the walls of the White City to survay the damage wreaked on the fields below and welcome the armies of Rohan and Dol Amroth into Minas Tirith. The Istari was not in the best of moods, due to the little fiasco involving Pippin and the barricade at the gate. Fortunately, the hobbit was merely shaken and, according to Kuro, not lasting harm done. The last bit of rubbish had been cleared away just in time for the first wave of the injured, led by none other than Eomer with someone else on his horse. That matter was the subject of much debate between Susano'o and Kuro, who were walking behind him while Pippin was at his side.

"I still think it was a girl," argued Kuro as he walked along the dead bodies, his strange eyes darting back and forth.

"Well, its hair was short enough to be a boy," responded his bandage-wearing teammate as he knelt beside a corpse. "But you never know, since none of the men seem to have short hair here,"

Their inane prattle faded into the background when they seemed to encounter a meeting between Aragorn and the Army of the Dead. Legolas, Gimli and Minato stood by his side; Well, the jōnin wasn't really standing so much as caught between staying upright or fainting. Legolas seemed to be holding back laughter as the sickly pale foreigner put all his weight on the elf's shoulder, muttering words.

"Release us," hissed the Ghost King, a vaguely irritated look on his translucent green face.

"Bad idea! Very handy in a tight spot these lads, we may need them in the near future," protested Gimli.

Minato gave a very distressed groan, while the Dead King looked outraged. "You gave us your word!" he cried.

Gandalf looked at the army, then at the grey, horned hag that floated by the Ghost King. The Istari scowled.

_"How in the name of the Creator did a _Shinigami_ get to Arda?"_ he thought.

"I hold your oath fulfilled. Go, be at peace,"

At Aragorn's words the ghosts slowly dissolved, as if they were being blown into the beyond by a strong wind. However, the Shinigami remained, its fanged mouth twisted in a mockery of a smile.

"It zeemz yoor word waz enough," growled the _yōkai._ "I oondureztimated yoo. But if yoo call on mee again..." It drew its bony finger across its slitted throat. Then it vanished.

Minato managed to get to his feet as Gandalf approached the four. The jōnin wore a look of relief on his pale face.

"Thank _Kami_ they are gone," he breathed, removing his headband and wiping his face.

Legolas gave him an amused smile. "Why are you so afraid of the Dead?" asked the archer.

The yellow-haired shinobi scowled. "If you knew half the ghost stories every shinobi knows, you would fear the dead as well,"

Suddenly, there was a joyful cry from behind them. The Istari turned around to see Susano'o holding up a thin golden chain in awe

"Jackpot!" he cried as his teammate raced over to his side, making envious noises.

"PUT THAT BACK WERE YOU FOUND IT!" roared Minato, surprising everyone. The young shinobi cowered, and, trembling, Susano'o returned the chain to its owner's body.

"What were you told about graverobbing?" he asked a calm voice.

"It is not allowed," they said in unison miserably.

The jōnin nodded his approval, before turning his attention back to the adults. "Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Gimli waved him off. "Its not a problem laddie," he said. "I guess your kind have rules against reusing the belongings of the dead,"

The yellow-haired man nodded. "Hey, do any of you know the whereabouts of my students?" he asked.

"I last saw Obito, Rin, Anko and Hoshi with a captive near Thèoden's place of death," answered Aragorn. "I have not seen Kakashi,"

Legolas frowned. "Now that I think of it, I haven't seen those two captives either. I wonder, where they could be?"

Gandalf's pale blue eyes scanned the battle field. He could make out the shapes of men and horses through the haze. Finally, they landed on a group of rather short-statured people.

"Minato-sensei!" cried Obito, raising his hand in greeting. Hoshi and Rin trailed the enthusiastic boy, each gripping a arm. There was a yelp from an indecently dressed blonde adolescent when she laid her gold eyes on Minato and tried to run away. Anko shamlessly grabbed her long hair, prompting the girl to wipe out a knife and attempt to cut off her hair. In the blink of an eye Minato was standing in front of her and she was cluching her stomach, screaming profanities. The Istari was amused to see Obito and Rin covering a clearly oblivious Hoshi's ears.

"I cannot believe she actually thought that she would get away," sighed Susano'o. Kuro nodded, then suddenly blinked a couple times.

"Wait, where's Pippin?"

The White wizard looked around. Sure enough, the hobbit was nowhere to be found.

_"Where could have that foolish Took have gone?"_


	23. Chapter 23

**AN:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you sakurastar14, loki98, Fiddler Spider, Reader-anonymous-writer, and LunaVanillaStorm for favoriting. Another thanks goes to Fiddler Spider and Reader-anonymous-writer for following.**

**Thanks for all the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>When Pippin saw Susano'o and Kuro crawling among the corpses, the Took decided it couldn't hurt to look for some trinkets that nobody would miss. His keen eyes scanned the ground, looking for loose gold or jewelry. His large hairy feet expertly navigated the bloodstained earth, as the hobbit took care to not disturb the corpses lying about. Pippin was so engrossed in his scavanger hunt that he did not realize that he had moved far beyond the group's eyesight.<p>

"Hello Pippin, what are you doing?" asked a soft, serious, accented voice; clearly Kakashi's.

"Looking for valubles that are no longer needed," answered the Took without even looking up. Then his eyes caught something.

"Oh no," he breathed, running over and kneeling down to examine the edge of an elven cloak. Pippin rubbed the soft fabric between his fingers, trying to figure out just what had happened to his dearest friend and cousin.

"Pippin,"

The hobbit looked up to see Kakashi standing over his shoulder with two other shinobi positioned a little ways behind the silver-haired boy.

"We are going to move these corpses, alright?" said the masked foreigner soothingly.

The Took looked down at the cloak, which appeared to originate from under the pile of bodies. His eyes widened with realization. Standing up, Pippin began to push a corpse off the top of the pile. With a noise of surprise, the shinobi joined him, with Kakashi practically throwing the bodies away. A boy with a cloth-wrapped head and a painted face complained bitterly in the shinobi's strange tongue as he worked, while the dark-haired girl occasionally snapped at him. Finally, the last corpse was pulled away to reveal a familiar figure pinned to a horse carcass.

"Merry!" cried Pippin in relief as he clambered over to his cousin. The Bradybuck was fast asleep and snoring loudly. A long knife stuck out of the hobbit's right arm, its blade buried deep in the forearm. The girl made a noise of outrage, before dropping to Merry's side and removing the blade, cooing the entire time. Her teammate shot Kakashi a questioning look. The silver-haired boy shrugged.

"Merry is going to be alright?" as Pippin, feeling left out of the loop.

"He will be just fine," answered the shinobi. "Sho here was only wondering why Emi was so keen on taking care of Merri. Of course I don't know,"

Emi, the girl, looked up at the two boys and gave them a sour look before turning her attentions back to Merry. Kakashi's dark eyes flicked around, looking for something. "Pippin, have you seen..."

"Peregrin Took! Where are you?" someone cried.

The masked boy groaned and rolled his eyes. "Never mind, looks like one of them is here," he grumbled

Suddenly, Susano'o appeared in front of Kakashi.

"Hey, have you seen Pippin?" he asked.

"I'm right here," the Took said softly. However, the bandaged boy did not seem to hear him.

"Hellooo Hatake," said the dark-skinned boy in a sing-song voice. "Did you hear me?"

"Idiot, of course I heard you," answered Kakashi dully, with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Who would have thought a shinobi could be so unobservant,"

An offended look crossed Susano'o's face. "Is that a challenge?" he snapped, his nose practically against the masked boy's face.

Kakashi released a long suffering sigh. "Just look around you, for crying out loud,"

With a skepticle snort, the dark-haired foreigner finally looked down and saw Pippin.

"Oh, there you are," he said in a falsely cheery voice. "I'll be back. Make sure to bring the wounded to the Houses of Healing," Before he ran off, Susano'o stuck out his index and middle fingers, pointed them in front of his eyes, then toward Kakashi's, then back at his. The silver-haired boy responded by raising up his middle finger and mockingly saluting his comrade with it.

"Idiot," grumbled Kakashi. "Come on, lets go up to the Houses,"

The shinobi nodded, and the painted boy gently picked up Merry, taking care not to disturb the slumbering hobbit.

Pippin sighed, and looked at his cousin, who was snoring softly. The Took smiled.

"There's no need to worry," he murmured. "We will look after you,"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Aragorn quietly observed the shinobi as they searched for Pippin and their lost comrades. Obito and Susano'o went off to actively search for the missing members of their fellowship, while Anko and the blonde, Kin, sorted the bodies of the living from the corpses. Rin and Kuro were offering first aid to everyone, regardless of of alliance. Aragorn would have gone to help them, if not for a request from Minato, just before Gandalf stole the shinobi for some mission.

_"Could you keep an eye on Hoshi?" asked the frazzled-looking jōnin. "I don't want him to go wandering off and getting even more hurt,"_

Aragorn was quite worried about the pale boy, who was currently standing next to him, looking as if he was expecting a scolding. Hoshi kept trying to hide his broken arm from the tall man, and was worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. Concerned, the ranger knelt down to look the child in the eyes.

"Hoshi," he asked softly. "May I have a look at your arm?"

The boy's grey eyes widened, before nodding slowly. "Rin splinted it, so it should be fine," he murmured, reluctantly raising his arm up for Aragorn to look at. The Dunedain caught the smell of athelas in Hoshi's breath.

"Do you have athelas?" he asked softly as he gently took the child's thin arm. Hoshi nodded.

"They always make me feel better," he whispered as the ranger looked over Rin's expert splinting. Aragorn idly remembered that he still had Kuro's strange splint in his possession.

"There is nothing more that I can do right here," he finished, gently returning Hoshi's arm back to his side. The dark-haired child nodded, and worried his lip further. Aragorn stood up, not knowing what to say. Hoshi leaned on his side, grey-eyed darting around.

"Where is Obito?" he asked softly.

The short-haired boy had recruited Legolas and Gimli on his little search for his silver-haired teammate quite some time ago, and he had not seen the three of them since. Obito had been behaving quite sourly towards him, much to the Dunedain's confusion. Aragorn could not remember when he had slighted the boy. Maybe it had something to do with the goggles that hung around his neck.

"When do you think he will return?" asked Hoshi, who had twisted his small fingers into Aragorn's cloak.

"I am not sure,"

The small boy yawned and wiggled his ears. "Never mind. He is coming,"

Aragorn looked around, but he did not see any sign of loud, black-haired boy. "How do you know?"

Hoshi laughed. "Because I can hear him," he declared with a smile. "I do not believe you to hard of hearing. You will pick up on it soon,"

Sure enough, he could hear Obito's boisterous speech. Hoshi's foster brother seemed to be asking about the nine rings. Aragorn could see Legolas and Gimli following Obito, who was walking next to Gandalf. The Istari was trailed by Minato, Imrahil, and his sons. The blue-clad shinobi stopped talking to run over to Hoshi, holding a box.

"Hey Hoshi! Look at what Gandalf and Minato-sensei found!" he cried, opening up the box. The lany boy recoiled, yanking the ranger in front of him with surprising strength.

"Get it out of here!" he screamed. "Get it out, Get it out, GET IT OUT!"

Obito, scared, closed, then threw the box to Minato, who caught it in surprise. Aragorn had noticed a macabre ring resting on a velvet pillow. A freezing chill seemed to emanate from the bone-like ring, which glittered with inlayed jet and rubies. Hoshi was trembling like a leaf in the wind.

_"Did you hear that?"_ he whispered, his voice shaky. _"It was calling to me,"_

Aragorn _did_ hear the voice. However, it was a mere murmur and did not trouble him.

"Hoshi, I am so sorry," said Obito, looking utterly contrite. His foster brother stuck his head out from behind the ranger, an angry look on his face.

"You just shoved one of the darkest objects known to man in my face!" he cried, slightly hysterical.

"Whoa, calm down!" cried Anko, who had taken a break from body-sorting. "It's just a ring,"

"Just a ring!?" shrieked Hoshi. "This mere _ring_ bound a man to the will of Sauron and turned him into an invisible wraith! It poisons your mind and corrupts both spirit and flesh!"

The violet-haired girl looked taken aback. "Okay, since when has these things existed? 'Cause I have not heard a word about evil jewelry,"

Aragorn had to stare at Anko in disbelief. In fact, everyone except Kuro and Kin were staring at her.

"How," started Obito. "Can you be here and not know about Sour-on's evil bling?"

"Yeah," added Rin. "I mean, didn't Hoshi tell you about the One Ring at least once?"

Anko turned beet red. "Well excuse me for paying more attention to the other sentiant species of Middle Earth then to stupid rings,"

Hoshi sighed. "Well, now you know," he said quietly. "So what next?"

Gandalf cleared his throat, taking charge. "Legolas, Gimli and Minato will dispose of the ring. Aragorn, there is need of your abilities up at the Houses of Healing. Both Faramir, Lord Denethor's youngest son, and Eowyn are suffering from the Black Breath,"

Imrahil frowned. "It would be a good thing to have Aragorn help, but do you think that Lord Denethor would allow him into the city, let alone near his son?"

"He has no say in the matter..." started Gandalf.

"Because he's dead as a doornail," finished Susano'o as he arrived. "I found Pippin, Merry, Kakashi, and the other Suna-nin. I told them that I would return, but they are probably headed up to the Houses,"

"The Steward is dead?" asked one of Imrahil's sons. Aragorn frowned slightly, trying to remember the young man's name.

"Burnt himself to a crisp then jumped off the mountain," replied Susano'o. "So, yeah, he's deceased,"

Hoshi was scowling at the bandaged boy. "Can't you show a little more respect?" he asked.

"What respect do I owe him?" Susano'o snapped. "I think I will give it all to Faramir-taicho, thank you very much,"

The grey-eyed boy stared the dark-skinned shinobi in the eye until he looked away, fidgeting in discomfort.

Aragorn sighed. "Now that manner is settled, am I allowed into Minas Tirith, my Lord?"

Imrahil blinked, before an easy smile crossed his face. "Oh, yes, of course," he said, then muttered: "How silly of me to forget my position,"

Minato looked around, arranging his students and their comrades. "Rin, Obito, go with Hoshi and Aragorn. Anko, what does your team want to do?"

The girl blinked. "Eh, we might as well make Reaper rounds," she said with a shrug. "Kin will help us, right?"

The golden-haired adolescent sneered at Anko, who rolled her eyes.

"When we have resolved those matters I would like to meet to discuss Sauron's next move," said Imrahil. "I fear that I am in the dark on recent events,"

Gandalf nodded. "A wise idea," he agreed. "We will take counsul in the throne room. Come, Aragorn,"

The ranger soundlessly followed the White Wizard, looking ahead at Minas Tirith.

"A-Aragorn?" whispered Hoshi. Tall man looked down.

_"I have been meaning to give this to you since we left the Golden Wood,"_ he said softly, playing with a cloth pouch. A look of intense concentration was on his face, as if he were recalling a lost memory. _"But ...now seemed like the right time for you to have it,"_ he finished uncertainly.

The lanky boy reached into the pouch and removed a sliver brooch in the shape of an eagle. Set in the raptor's breast was a strange green stone.

_"The Lady Galadriel asked you to take this, Elessar," _ Hoshi continued in Sindrian, holding out the handsome brooch. _"Although I do not know why she could not give it to you herself, considering its importance"_

Aragorn gently took it, and pinned the silver eagle on his tunic. Hoshi then seemed to slip away, humming a little ditty with a far-away look in his grey eyes. The boy still had not let go of his cloak.

"What did Hoshi give you?" asked Obito as he ran up to Aragorn's side, quickly followed by Rin.

"A brooch from Lady Galadriel," he answered as they walked through the gate. Obito paused to look around, his dark eyes narrowed against the brightness of the white stone.

"Welcome to the city of Kings," Hoshi said softly, his eyes closed with a serene look on his face. As they followed Gandalf up the winding streets, Aragorn stood taller, and looked at the city he hoped to rule. While the inhabitants no worse for wear, many of the building had seen better days.

"Man, nothing but stone," commented Obito with a frown. "The architecture is pretty and all, but where are the plants?"

"Behind the houses," Hoshi answered promptly, albeit absently. "Sometimes in the windows, like there," he pointed out a little window box filled with orange flowers. "But all gardens are away from the street,"

"That's a shame," said Rin. "Nobody can enjoy everyone else's plants. It's always nice to see a pretty flower on a bad day,"

Aragron silently agreed with the petite brunette. Nothing but stone would drive him mad.

"Ah, here we are," said Gandalf lightly. The ranger inhaled deeply. Hoshi's tuneless humming finally blossmed into a softly sung song.

_When the black breath blows _

_and death's shadow grows _

_and all lights pass, _

_come athelas! come athelas! _

_Life to the dying _

_In the king's hand lying!_

With a deep breath, Aragorn entered the Houses.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

The Houses of Healing were very different from the hospitals Kakashi was familiar with. It was rather noisy, with little privacy. The faint smell of blood hung in the warm air, instead of the oder of cold disinfectant. The few white-robed healers were streched in multiple directions trying to give first aid to the multitude of injured men crammed on strechers, which covered every inch of the floor. Sho looked around and scowled.

_*__"Hospital my foot!"* _he growled. _*"Where are we supposed to put the midget?"*_

_*"It's a hobbit, not a midget,"* _Kakashi snapped in return. His dark eyes scanned the hall as the trio of shinobi and Pippin did their best to stay out of the way. The healers kept shooting them suspicious glances. A tall, olive-skinned woman finally approached them.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, a guarded look on her pretty face.

"Merry needs to be looked at," said the masked shinobi, gesturing to the hobbit, who continued to snore.

The healer regarded the armored hobbit with a skeptical frown. "He is merely asleep," she said.

"He has a wound on his fore-arm," Kakashi returned bluntly, pointing to the bloodstained bandage.

The healer released a long suffering sigh. "Follow me,"

They walked behind the tall woman, leaving the hall to pass through a small courtyard and garden, which offered a view of the breathtaking landscape. They entered a smaller, neater hall, that was filled with small cots as well as streachers. Picking through the crowded space, they left the wing to enter a smaller hallway, which seemed to lead to a carriage house if one turned left. Their footsteps echoed off the stone walls as the small group turned right and traveled down the short passage. They then entered the smallest and most orderly of the halls. Only a few beds and chairs were in the sparsely populated room. It was deathly quiet; seeming to lack even the causal noise of breath. The healer halted just inside of the room, allowing two of her colleagues to carry a cloth-wrapped body out of the hall. Kakashi blinked, suddenly coming to a conclusion.

"Miss, why are you putting Merry with the hopeless cases?"

The healer started, giving the silver-haired boy a warning look and gesturing to a familiar figure sitting beside a bed.

Eomer looked terrible. The man was covered in dirt and blood, and was still wearing his armor. His face was impassive, but a fool could tell that he had been crying. Eowyn was lying on the neat bed, relieved of her shoes and armor. Her blonde hair was cut to her shoulders, and her eyes were closed. Kuro was setting her left arm in a cast, his eyes briefly flickering up to aknowledge the newcomers. Their guide lead Sho to the empty bed next to Eowyn's, and the Suna nin gently laid Merry down on the off-white sheets. Other than Eowyn, Merry was the only patient in the room.

"Lothíriel, Ioreth was in need of your services," said the medic, utterly concentrated on his task. "She should be around the apothecary,"

The dark-haired woman nodded, stealing a glance at Eowyn, then her brother, before leaving the room. Pippin sat at the foot of Merry's bed, a worried look on his face. Emi and Sho promptly nabbed a couple of chair and settled down. Kakashi merely leaned against the cold white walls.

_*"What happened?"* _he asked quietly, not wanting to bother Eomer.

_*__"Beats me,"* _Kuro responded with a shrug. _*"I'm only a clone. She just came in with a broken arm, a fever, and was unconscience. Something is cutting what little chakra she has off from her body, so she is slipping into a coma. Not good,"*_

The Uchiha finished with the cast, and laid her arm gently across her chest. He turned around and grinned at the Hatake.

"So, do you have food? I could eat a whale!"

There was a muffled cry from Sho, who's mouth was covered by Emi. Eomer's bowed head jerked up, as if he suddenly noticed the prescense of others. Pippin looked up, alarmed, and Merry finally opened his eyes with an annoyed groan.

"Since when have YOU had the Sharingan?!" Kakashi spat out after getting over his surprise.

"The red eyes?" Eomer added quietly. "Those aren't natural,"

"It's a family trait," Kuro said lightly. "And I have had them since entering Isengard. They give me day-long migraines, and drain my chakra like a leech, so I prefer to not use them. To much pain to simply see the world in slow-motion,"

"Slow motion?" croaked Merry, startling everyone.

"You are awake!" cried Pippin, rushing to embrace the other hobbit. A ghost of a smile crossed Eomer's face before it returned to impassive meloncoly. Kuro's eyes widened.

"Is that orc blood in your arm?" he asked, dashing over, grabbing the hobbit's arm and staring intently at the wound. "I must speak to the person who stabbed you if possible," he murmured. "What a combination of deadly things!"

There was a clamor in the hallway, causing the two teenaged Suna nin to jump out of their seats and rush to the door.

_*"The jerk that stabbed me in the leg is coming,"* _growled Sho as he retreated back into the room, followed by his equally annoyed teammate. Kakashi frowned. The fan-whielder's leg looked just fine, tightly bound in spotless bandages, but looking rather uninjured. Just as the teenager sat back down in his chair, an old woman and Aragorn entered to room, followed by Rin, Obito and Hoshi.

Kuro perked up. "Do you need some kingsfoil, Strider?" he asked.

"Ioreth has them," said the ranger as he walked over to Eowyn's side, briefly nodding to Eomer, who finally looked hopeful. The Uchiha bowed slightly to the old healer, who smiled at him. Rin was watching Aragorn intently as he wet a rag in steaming water and carefully bathed the Shieldmaiden's face and right arm. He gently grasped Eowyn's blackened arm and placed his other hand on her forehead before slipping into a trance. The only sound in the room was Hoshi's flute, which played the simplest of tunes. Obito kept gesturing for his foster brother to be quiet, but the pale boy only gave the Uchiha a look and continued to play. Finally, Aragorn came out of his trance.

"I call for her, but she keeps slipping beyond my grasp," he said, slightly befuddled. "Eomer, you will have to call for her,"

Kakashi blinked, confused. He walked over to his pointy-eared teammate and tapped him on the shoulder. Hoshi flinched and immediately stopped playing his flute.

"What does Aragorn mean by 'calling Eowyn'?" he asked.

The lanky foreigner looked confused for a second, before immediately easing up. "Oh, just wait," he whispered. "You shall see,"

The Rohir frowned at Aragorn. "Forgive me, but does she not love you?" he asked quietly.

A sad smile crossed the tall man's face. "It is but a shadow and a thought she loves," he answered. "Eowyn truely loves and trusts you. Call for her, please,"

Eomer inhaled deeply, blinking his eyes rapidly as the ranger slipped back into the trance.

"Eowyn, please come back," begged her brother. "Eowyn!"

Slowly, but surely, a pair of icy blue eyes opened.

**AN:**

**I hate to sound like a whiny little dog, but I get all of these lovely favorites and followers, but not even a word in reviews. Many writes live off reviews, and being an insecure little egoist, I am not an exception. I am well aware that people take time out of their day to read this, but even a :) in the reviews will have me screaming for joy. They also may improve the writing and poor grammer. Don't like the direction I am taking this story? You can change that! Just tell me! I am sorry for complaining, and I should be greatful that people are actually reading this. It just is very discouraging to see the amount of people who read this story and the amount of reviews I get for the chapters. I can only hope that your silence is a good thing.**

**~Pipkin.**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN:**

**Thank you, _Thank you _Zach of Death, DreamingIn2Eternity, M. , Esmeraude11, Sorceric7, and ice vixen x for reivewing! Also thank you Goldenfire and Sorceric7 for following.**

**ice vixen x = I completely understand the busy-at-school part. I am glad that you enjoy it every time you have a chance to read.**

**Well, I managed to get this done earlier than expected. Thank you all so much for putting up with that insecure and childish rant from last chapter. **

**But Thank you all so much for the support, and on with the show! **

* * *

><p>Samwise Gamgee was not in a merry mood. In fact, if he had been all smiles after defeating a horrible, evil, giant spider, seeing Mr. Frodo in a state of death and taking the Ring while hiding from orcs only to learn that his dear master was not dead; one might say that the gardener was touched in the head. The foul bit of jewelry and its chain was stuffed in his pocket, tempting him with promises of creating glorious and world-famous gardens. Finding Lady Galadriel's gift to Mr. Frodo, Sam picked up the strangely sturdy glass flask with its odd liquid and stuffed it in his pack. Drawing Sting, the determined hobbit set off, following path of the horrid orcs. The unforgiving stone of Mordor's landscape soon caused his feet to ache. But he continued along the narrow, rocky road. Finally, the sharp stones fell aside to reveal a menecing tower. There was a hum of activity coming from inside the outer walls, worrying Sam.<p>

_"How can I get in unnoticed?"_ he asked. His pocket suddenly felt heavier, and an acute urge gnawed at his fingertips. Sam inhaled deeply and gulped, mustering his courage. Moving from his hiding place, the brave hobbit strode right up to the gate. Guardians of stone watched the gate. With the bodies of men and the faces of vultures, two faced outward, two were part of the imposing black gate, and two more were surely on the other side of the gate. Their torsos were connected in a twisted, grotesque manner. Sam was under the distinct impression that he was being watched by their glittering black eyes. Suddenly, there was a man standing before him.

"What is your name?" he asked with a heavy accent.

"Samwise Gamgee," he squeaked in surprise. The scribe was oddly dressed, in a way that reminded him of the shinobi. He was also smiling in a forced, false manner.

"Is Gamgee the family name?" he asked.

"Yes?" answered Sam, rather confused.

"Where are you from?"

"Hobbiton, the Shire,"

Ink flew everywhere as the thin scribe scribbled down his answers with a black quill.

"And what brings you to Cirith Ungol?"

"My own business," Sam answered promptly.

"Mmhmm," hummed the scribe. "Now,"

Suddenly a long blade was at his neck.

"Be a good little midget and leave your weapons at the armory,"

‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡

Three orcs and one ruined frying pan later, Sam was finally escorted into the tower.

"If you were so adement about keeping your weapons you could have merely said so," growled the orc who was leading him up the winding steps. "The boss is going to be angry at you for bashing four of his men upside the head,"

"I am not a midget," he Sam snapped.

"You'll have to excuse the newcomers for not knowing any better," said the orc in a strangely apologetic tone. "To be frank, I have no idea what you are either,"

They came to a door, which had a knocker shaped like a serpent. The orc slammed the knocker down so hard the gradener half expected a hole to appear in the wood. Instead, there was the faint command of _"come in!"._

The orc opened the door, revealing a short staircase. "Go up the stairs. The boss is expecting you,"

Inhaling deeply, Sam walked up the creaky wooden steps, hearing the door close behind him. When he reached the top of the stairs, he entered a well-lit room. It was covered in beautiful carpets, and the most interesting sorts of chairs. Tables laden with books and partchment hugged the curved walls, while a few windows, paned with glass, peeked out from between the stones.

"Welcome, Samwise Gamgee," hissed a deep, silken voice.

He jumped in surprise, wipping around to see a pale, serpentine man clad in a purple robe sitting on a pillow, leaning on a low table. The other occupant of the room gasped with shock.

"Sam!" cried Frodo, rushing to his feet. "Oh Sam, I am sorry about everything!"

The blue-eyed hobbit ran over and embraced him, nearly knocking his brown-eyed friend over. Frodo was dressed in clean clothes, and bandages were wrapped around his neck and shoulders.

"It's alright, Mr. Frodo," Sam said, tentively returning the hug.

"No, Sam," he whispered. "I've lost it. I've lost the ring!"

"Ring, what ring?" asked the black-haired man.

Sam chose to ignore him for the moment. "Begging your pardon, but you are mistaken,"

He reached into his pocket, and carefully removing the foul band and its chain. Before he could bat and eye, pale fingers snatched it from his grasp.

"What a curious object," murmured their yellow-eyed host, holding the ring in front of his eyes. "Is it yours?"

"It has been entrusted to me!" said Frodo with insistant calm. "Please give it to me,"

"If it is not yours, than who did it belong to?" he asked, playing with the fine, golden chain.

"Sauron, the Lord of Mordor," Sam answered.

Their host practically flung the Ring at Frodo. "No wonder you are in such poor health!" he cried. "Just why are you bringing Sauron his ring?"

"Now hold on just a minute!" cried Sam. "Who are you to meddle in our business?"

The yellow eyes blinked before a cunning smile crossed the man's thin face.

"I am Orochimaru from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, also Commander of the orcs of Cirith Ungol. There happens to be a war going on in my homeland, and I cannot leave until my comrades finish their mission with a Fellowship of the Ring. You must be the halfling the old White coger was going on about. So, why is the Ring in Mordor?"

Frodo gave Orochimaru a wary look. "We mean to destroy it," he said. "And that can only be done by throwing it into Mount Doom,"

The serpentine man sighed. "The answer to my problem stands right in front of me!" he lamented. "But there is no way that you can reach that blasted volcano without getting caught,"

The two hobbits exchanged looks. "Are you sure?" asked Sam hopefully.

Orochimaru chuckled, as if the very thought amused him and walked over to the low table. "Please sit. Some food will be brought to you," he said, walking off. "I will be back soon,"

With a flicker, the pale man disappeared. Before Sam could wonder what was happening, the scribe walked up the stairs with a try laden with food and tea.

"Eat up," he said cheerfully with a bandage across his nose. "There's more where that came from,"

Slowly and cautiously, the two hobbits started to eat the warm bread, the cooked vegetables and the roasted meat. The smiling scribe sat down across from them.

"I am sorry about hitting you," said Sam, feeling rather guilty.

"I understand," said the scribe cheerfully in return. "I would have done the same thing if I was in your place,"

The gardener blinked, taken aback by the speed of forgiveness. "Really?"

"Of course!" he chirped. "One should not allow themselves to be manipulated by the threat of death,"

Frodo looked very confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"When I was at the gate," explained Sam. "This fellow appeared in front of me and started asking questions and writing them down. He asked what my business was here, and I told him that it was my own. Seconds later there was a blade at my throat and he called me a midget!"

The scribe blinked. "Oh!" he said in realization. "You took offense to what I called you!"

Sam stared at the round-faced man with disbelief. He then sighed through his nose and turned back to his food. The was a period of awkward silence, filled only by the sound of eating. Finally, Frodo broke the quiet.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't have one," he said, his smile not wavering. Both Hobbits stared at the man in shock.

"But how-?" started Sam when he was inturrupted by the door slamming open and someone hurrying up the stairs.

Orochimaru had a wild look around him. The pale man's incredibly long hair was in complete disarray, and he was no longer wearing the purple robe. Instead, he was clad in a pair of grey trousers and a long-sleeved black shirt.

The shinobi's foreign words tumbled out of their host's grinning mouth as he began to seal mountains of books and papers into a couple scrolls. The nameless man blinked and his smile disappeared.

"We can't just evacuate," he said dully.

"We must," snapped Orochimaru. "I am not being dragged back to _entertain_ those inbred freaks,"

"There is nowhere to put your...subordinates," argued the scribe in a even tone. "We cannot feed them,"

The round-faced man quailed under the serpentine shinobi's venomous gaze. "Did you not notice that they feed themselves on the job?" he hissed. "Fool, they are most useful. I cannot leave them behind,"

The scribe swallowed thickly, then cleared his throat. "What about your guests?" he asked.

Orochimaru took his middle and index fingers of both hands put them together in the shape of a cross. With an explosion of smoke, another Orochimaru appeared.

"My clone will help you with my subordinates," he said, in a tone that brooked no argument. "I will take care of my guests. Now get going!"

Both men nodded, with a hand sign, disappeared. Their yellow-eyed host turned to them.

"You will come with me," he said as he shoved the two scrolls in a pouch at his hip. "Please try to trust me,"

"Wait, where are we going?" asked Sam as he grabbed his pack.

"To a safe place," he said. "Get onto my back,"

Bewildered, the gardener oblidged. As soon as his arms were securely wrapped around the man's white neck, Orochimaru scooped up Frodo with one arm, and jumped out a window. Sam couldn't help but scream as they plummeted down toward the spinky rocks below, the wind howling past them. A sudden shock traveled through his body as their free fall was broken.

_«"What's this?"» _hissed a deep voice. _«"Two more hole-dwellers?"»_

Frodo's eyes went wide, and Sam looked down. They were atop the head of a giant, purple-scaled creature.

_"A dragon,"_ Frodo mouthed, trembling slightly.

Orochimaru snarled out something in his language, causing the dragon to release an outraged hiss.

_«"What! No!"» _it snarled. _«"Why should I do that?__"»_

Suddenly, a horrific, familiar shriek pierced the air. Frodo began to gasp in pain, and Sam could feel Orochimaru go cold.

"Just do it!" the shinobi shrieked with a note of panic in his voice. Without warning, a wave of pure energy flooded through the hobbit and everything went white.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

It almost felt like a shame to destroy the beautifully crafted piece of murderous jewelry. But Minato could not deny the perticular bit of satisfaction he got from seeing the enchanted object melt. The jōnin left the blacksmith in a good mood, whistling a tuneless song. Gimli looked just as cheerful, but Legolas seemed troubled.

"I was under the impression that the Dark Lord held on to the nine rings," he said.

"It wasn't one of the nine," commented Gimli. "You may not have noticed, but a small bit of the ring was crafted from a different material. We just melted a companion ring which allows Sauron to control the wraithes even further,"

As the two became engrossed in their discussion about rings, Minato walked further up the stone street. He found the city to be quite beautiful, with neat, white streets and noble architecture. People moved about, as did carts carrying the injured up to the Houses of Healing on the sixth level. That reminded the yellow-haired jōnin to check on Orochimaru's students, and made him wonder just what his sensei's teammate was up to.

"Hello Minato-sensei!" cried Anko, followed by her two teammates and a grumpy-looking Kin. Susano'o was listening intently to the radio, holding the head seat close to his ears.

"Done already?" he asked, surprised.

"No," answered Kuro. "Gamling kicked us off the field due to _somebody_ using wire to scare the ever-loving daylights out of the men,"

Everyone but Susano'o glared at Kin, who stuck her tongue out. Minato sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Legolas and Gimli seemed to have finally ended their conversation and walked over to him.

"We should go up to the Houses," recommended Legolas. "I would like to visit Eowyn and see if she is well,"

"An excellent idea!" agreed Minato "We need to pick up the others there anyway, so why not kill two birds with one stone?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, except Susano'o, who was frowning at the radio.

"Alright then, let's go," said Kuro, as he led the way up to the Houses.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Obito released a sigh of relief when Eowyn opened her eyes and slowly sat up, blinking in a dazed manner.

"This is not the halls of my forefathers," she murmured, looking around slowly, until her eyes rested on Eomer.

"Brother?" she whispered, bemused. Holding back tears, Eomer suddenly embraced her, pulling her close. Slowly, she returned, wrapping her unbroken arm around his neck. There was a muffled sob, but Obito wasn't sure just who it came from. Gradually, they broke apart, with Eowyn wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Aragorn had moved away from the bed and was standing near Rin.

"You foolish woman," said Eomer, his voice thick with tears. "What drove you to join the fight?"

"Hey, at least she is all in one piece," rebuked Obito half-heartedly.

Eomer gave him a watery chuckle. "As long as you are alive, dear sister," he said. Eowyn smiled sadly at him, then began looking around again.

"Where is Merry?" she asked.

"Right here, Milady," the hobbit said, sitting up and carefully raising his arm, a relieved smile on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, Obito saw Hoshi tense up a bit.

"And Anko?" she enquired.

"Still down on the Pelennor, sorting out the dead from the living," answered Rin.

"Ah, there you are Rin," Eowyn said, sounding relieved. "Is there anyone who did not make it through?"

The shinobi looked at one another, and Kuro was massaging his temples.

"Er, well, how much do you remember before you went into your coma?" he asked, measuring out the sentance with care.

"Kuro, she didn't get hit on the head," pointed out Hoshi softly.

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "When people slip into comas, it means something has affected the brain, so it could have affected her memory," he explained impatiently.

Eowyn froze, and a look of depression crossed her face.

"You don't need to answer," Kakashi said quickly, entering the conversation. "Just take your time,"

The White Lady nodded, her blue eyes dropping to the edge of her coverlet.

"Are you okay, my boy?" asked Ioreth, putting a gentle hand of Hoshi's shoulder. His brother had broken out in sweat, and was gritting his teeth. He was cluching his upper right arm tightly, and was shaking slightly in surpressed pain.

"Hoshi?" asked Obito, worried.

"Bring him here, please," said Aragorn. Wordlessly, the old healer steered Hoshi over to an empty bed, and sat the lanky boy down. The ranger took the glass bowl from the woman's hand and placed it on a nightstand, silently dismissing her. She bowed to him, and left. As Aragorn unwrapped the splint, Rin turned to Kuro and poked him in the arm.

"Do you think you can cast Hoshi's arm?" She asked.

"When my original comes back," he answered shortly, his hands clamped over his eyes. "If you don't mind, I am going to disappate now because my head is killing me,"

With that, the clone dissolved into a cloud of smoke, much to Rin's apparent frustration. Obito watched Aragorn carefully bathe Hoshi's arm. The pointy-eared boy was humming the entire time, with the rhythm of the ranger's movements perfectly following the rhythm of the song he was humming. Sometimes he murmured phrases, until Obito fanced he could understand him. But before the Uchiha could work out the meaning of the odd words, Hoshi stopped humming. Aragorn had finished re-splinting the lanky genin's arm, and Hoshi was staring at it, and carefully moving his arm.

"Thank you, Ada," he whispered.

Aragorn gave an irritated sigh, and said:

"Why do you persist in calling me Ada?"

Hoshi seemed to suddenly realize his slip of tongue. "Well, you look very much like my father," he said softly. "You carry yourself like he does, you talk like him..."

"You ARE him,"

All eyes in the room turned to Legolas, who had just walked into the room. Minato was standing behind the blond elf, an _oh-crap_ look on his face. Kuro and Anko's jaws dropped, their eyes darting between Aragorn and Hoshi. Then, the dark-haired boy did something that surprised Obito. He laughed. Hoshi howled with laughter, tears streaming down his face as he clutched his sides.

"Strider, a father?" he gasped out, before lapsing into a new bout of laughter, which sounded slightly hysterical. Aragorn looked genuinely hurt.

"Hoshi, that isn't very funny," Rin said softly. Hoshi managed to calm down, wiping the tears off his face.

"Of course it isn't," he said, a rather bitter look on his face. "Who would like a father who doesn't like their children addressing them as such? I wouldn't, and I am glad that I don't,"

He jumped off the bed and quietly walked out of the hall. The room was deathly silent.

"What was that about?" asked Eowyn, a confused look on her face.

"From what I have heard," said Eomer. "Hoshi is from the Fourth Age, is he not?"

The present members of the Fellowship nodded, and looked over at the shinobi for confirmation.

"As far as we know, yes," said Kakashi quietly. "He hasn't lied to us about that,"

"Then do you know his parentage?" asked Pippin, a curious gleam in his eyes.

"Not us!" cried Anko, gesturing to her teammates. "Since he didn't tell us, it must be important,"

"Maybe he just didn't want to tell you," Kakashi said snidely.

The kunoichi looked like she was about to punch the Hatake. Gimli promptly put a hand on her shoulder.

"I do not see why knowing Hoshi's parentage should make a differance," he said calmly. " I don't know much about his life, but it seems that he has not seen his family in a long time, and misses them. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then let him be,"

Reluctantly, Anko's head nodded. Gimli leveled a look at Legolas, who, after a brief stare-down, looked away and mumbled an agreement.

"Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth and Gandalf are conviening a meeting up in the Citadel to discuss our next move," continued the dwarf. "We should be there soon. Eomer, can I expect for you to join us?"

Obito's attention slipped away from the dwarf and flitted over to Minato, who was giving Emi a translation seal on

her ears. But it quickly turned over to Aragorn, who was sitting on the edge of a bed. Kakashi walked over and sat beside the tall man. Feeling badly for the ranger, Obito walked over and sat on his other side.

"I'm sorry about Hoshi," he said. "I'm sure he didn't mean it,"

"He did," Aragorn said curtly.

The Uchiha blinked, not knowing what to say.

Kakashi sighed. "I think we can get to the root of this problem if you can tell us why you don't like Hoshi calling you father,"

"He's not my son," snapped the ranger.

Obito raised an eyebrow. "Do you believe that?"

Aragorn turned his head and leveled an intense glare that made the genin's blood run cold. He then stood up and said:

"Let us go, we are making them wait,"

Minato gestured for Obito and Kakashi to come with him, and then Team Minato followed the others out the door.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN:**

**Thank you M.M. Chris, DreamingIn2Eternity, ice vixen x, and WhiteCat2011 for your lovely reviews! Also thank you twixxy-dee, and nhwaun for favoriting my works. Another thanks goes to twixxy-dee, and nhwaun for following. And thank you GlidingOne for putting me on your favorite Authors list. (^\\\-\\\^)**

**I can never thank you all enough for the support, and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Eldarion felt as if he was finally coming out of a haze. His mind had more or less cleared, allowing him to finally think clearly. The lanky boy was halfway to the Citadel when the gravity of his previous conversation hit him like the bricks of Barad-Dûr.<p>

_"Son of an orc, Legolas knows who I am!"_he yelled aloud, freezing in the middle of the street. A couple old women shot him strange looks and a baby, startled by his outburst, began to wail in its mother's arms. Embarressed, Eldarion pushed the conversation to the back of his mind and decided to hightail to Gandalf's house and change into a less bloody set of clothes. His splinted arm throbbed as he ran down the quiet streets and skidded to a stop at the sturdy front door. An experimental tug on the wooden handle proved that the door was bolted. The Gondorian sighed and leaned back, looking for any open windows. A small smile crossed his face when his sharp eyes found one two stories up, with its gauzy curtains billowing in and out like a pair of lungs. With a powerful, chakra-aided leap, the agile genin landed on the window sill. The empty room had a table and several shelves filled with books. There was a vase filled with dead flowers and brown water sitting atop what appeared to be a poem about stones written in Quenya. Eldarion was unpleasently reminded of a tutor he once had when he was eight. All it took was for him to show his parents just what he was learning for him to get the disturbing tutor dismissed.

_"Minato-sensei's perverted master was better than him,"_ he thought as he leapt off the window sill, and quietly left the room. It did not take him long to find his backpack and scrolls. Removing the dirty clothing except for the elven cloak, Eldarion quickly donned a simple, navy blue, shirt and loose, khaki-colored pants. He squimed, itching to take a bath and scrub himself until he couldn't remember what it felt like to feel dirty. The grimy boy mourned the loss of the shinobi's incredible indoor plumbing.

_"No such thing as a quick shower here,"_ he thought, leaving the room before the temptation to stay longer conquered him. The empty stone hallway echoed faintly with the clicking of his sandles on the floor. Eldarion crept down the stairs, and looked around for a closet. Finding the door, he opened it, revealing a staircase descending into the dark. He opened a scroll and removed a flashlight. Flicking a switch, the thin boy climbed down the stairs, with the pale yellow light guiding his path. The tunnel was musty and filled with cobwebs. A couple rats scurried away from him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Eldarion looked around, noticing a distinct change in the elevation. The dusty, rock-hewn path lead upward, prompting a smile from the Gondorian.

_"Good, I'm on the right path,"_ he thought, before spurring himself into a run. Grey walls flew by as the tall boy ran up the tunnel, the light waving about as the flashlight was moved back and forth. Eldarion did not bother to pause at forks in the path, instead instictively speeding up a chosen tunnel. Before long, he was at a wall. Carefully, the genin probed the wall with his uninjured hand, finally pressing a lever. Eldarion pushed the hidden door out, and to the side, slipping through the small exit. As soon he was out, he immediately closed the door, thankfully not on any limbs. His nose was suddenly assulted by a thousand new smells. The aroma of fried fish and roasted chicken wafed around, acompannied by the smell of crushed strawberries and cooked pears. Eldarion's stomach growled and his mouth watered, reminding him that he had yet to eat anything for lunch. But first he had to leave the nice, warm kitchen. Eldarion wasn't a fool. The hiss of boiling water, the crackle of cooking fat and the clanging of pots and pans clearly indicated that the kitchen was open for business. He wasn't a prince, or an honored guest, so the lanky boy was not keen on getting caught by the always intimidating kitchen staff. Grabbing an apple off the table next to him, he weaved a light genjutsu around himself; one that caused a person looking to close to his position to look away. Seeing the exit, Eldarion calmly strode out of the kitchen while eating the apple, the staff none the wiser.

Dodging maids and courtiers, the grey-eyed genin removed the genjutsu and strode into the throne room, munching on the apple core.

"You're late!" howled his teammates, causing him to jump. Even Kakashi looked rather ticked off.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I got lost,"

"Lies!" crowed Obito, Kuro and Anko. Rin, Kakashi and Susano'o favored him with a disbelieving glare.

"You changed clothes," observed Legolas, who was favoring him with a knowing look. Eldarion sighed and sat down on the steps leading up to the king's throne, prefering to reflect on _that_ conversation later.

"What I happen to be wearing is not important," he said, looking around at the occupants of the room. "What did I miss?"

"Only the introductions," said Gimli, who was sitting into the Steward's chair, smoking a pipe. The thin boy refrained from commenting on the dwarf's place, and looked to his right see Imrahil and his three sons. Iorlas was present, and giving him a wary look.

"That shouldn't be a problem," he said, punctuating the remark by biting the apple core into half. "What do we know of Frodo and Sam?"

Gandalf sighed, and began to walk the length of the hall. "Frodo has passed beyond my sight," he said. "The darkness is deepening,"

"If Sauron had the Ring we would know it," Aragorn stood with his back to the throne, his stance wide and his arms crossed. A flash of guilt ran through Eldarion. Yes, he was hurt and stressed, but he knew better than to laugh at someone. But the expression of denial on the Dunedain's face was rather hilarious.

"It's only a matter of time," assured Gandalf sadly. "He has suffered a defeat, yes, but behind the walls of Mordor our enemy is regrouping,"

"Are you sure?" said Minato. "Orochimaru could be causing some serious trouble for him,"

"Or he could have joined up with him," said Legolas coldly.

Eldarion's head snapped up to look at the blonde archer in disbelief.

"Are you f #*! serious?" said Anko calmly, obviously enraged. All the non-shinobi in the room looked appalled by her language.

"Sure, Sensei isn't the nicest or most moral person, but he would never side with that meglomaniac eye!" she continued. "In fact, he would probably attempted a government overthrow,"

"Attempt is the key word here," said Kakashi, steering the conversation back to the correct topic. "As far as we know, Orochimaru went to Mordor and we haven't heard a word since. Until we get any information, he is to be considered dead or out of commission,"

Imrahil's youngest son, Amrothos, frowned. "So the enemy is regrouping in Mordor," he stated, reaffirming the topic of conversation.

"Yes," agreed Gandalf. "We have dealt a blow to his forces and they have retreated to the safety of his lands lick their wounds,"

"Let him stay there, let them rot!" growled Gimli. "Why should we care?"

"Because 10,000 Orcs now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom," the Istari explained, hiding his irritation with impatiance.

Minato, leaning against a piller, stood up straighter. The genin exchanged glances, and Obito looked to Eldarion for reassurance. Imrahil closed his eyes and exhaled quietly, trying to digest the information

"I've sent him to his death," said Gandalf sadly.

"No," said Aragorn. "There is still hope for Frodo. He needs time and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth. We can give him that,"

A look sparked in Kakashi's eyes. One by one all the genin's eyes lit up with understanding and anticipation.

"How?" asked Erchirion, Imrahil's second son. A skeptical look was on his face.

"Draw out Sauron's armies. Empty his lands," explained Aragorn, his grey eyes blazing. "We gather our full strength and march on the Black Gate,"

For the first time, Eomer entered the conversation. "We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms,"

"Why would it be necessary?" said Kakashi, the other shinobi nodding "Victory is not the goal,"

Aragorn nodded. "We can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron's eye fixed upon us. Keep him blind to all else that moves,"

"A diversion," Gimli and Legolas said in unison. Eldarion cracked a smile, covering his mouth to hide it. Then he realized everyone except Aragorn was looking at him. They wanted his approval.

"Certainty of death, small chance of success; what are we waiting for?" he said, a large grin on his face.

Imrahil frowned slightly. "Sauron will suspect a trap. I doubt he would take the bait,"

A small smile crossed the ranger's face. "Oh, I think he will,"

There was not a face in the room devoid of curiosity. Eldarion himself was curious, even though he had a rough idea of what was going to happen.

"When will the armies move out?" asked Eomer, a worried look on his face.

"We cannot wait any longer than necessary," answered Gandalf. "We have two days, otherwise Sam and Frodo will certainly be captured,"

Imrahil nodded. "I shall write to old Forlong of Lossarnach, and ask for his aid. We need as many men as we can muster,"

Aragorn nodded, and noticing Eomer's worried face, said:

"Your people have saved us, Eomer. Do not devout more to our forces than you deem necessary to,"

Aragorn and Imrahil turned to Minato. "Who is going to come with you?" he asked.

The yellow-haired jōnin looked thoughtful. "All of Orochimaru's team is joining us. Hoshi and Rin are going to stay behind,"

"What!?" Eldarion cried. "I am not staying behind!"

"Yes you are!" commanded Rin, her arms crossed. "Eowyn and Faramir are in need of a therpist and you are going to help me with that. Besides you are injured and we have decided that you need therapy also,"

The pointy-eared boy stared at her in shock. "I need therapy?!" he cried.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. *_"You have Post-Truamatic Stress Disorder, Delusions, possibly an Inferiority Complex, (which I personally think you don't have), and paternal issues,"*_

_*"Says the person with a serious PTSD, a Superiority Complex, and unresolved paternal issues,"*_ he grumbled, his ears burning. He could feel Legolas' eyes on him, and Eomer looking at them with a deep frown on his face.

"Fine," he said flatly. "But don't be surprised when I show up,"

Susano'o and Kakashi snorted, skeptical. Eldarion could feel Aragorn's eyes on him. The thin boy looked over, but the ranger had looked away, his face impassive.

"I will be sending the Suna shinobi back home," said Minato. "I think an agreement will come easily enough from them, and they will not betray us to Sauron,"

Gandalf nodded. "I have talked to Húrin the Tall, and he will be running the affairs of Minas Tirith while we are gone and Faramir is incompacitated. Unless anything else it to be discussed, I declare this meeting adjourned,"

A heavy silence descended upon the hall, then was finally broken by Minato clapping his hands together.

"Excellant! Now, can someone tell me where I can take a bath?"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Rin was glad to finally be clean. The petite medic was almost positive that they had scared the Middle Earthlings when all the shinobi made a mad dash to Gandalf's house in order to get first dibs on a warm bath. It really didn't help that the stone of Minas Tirith was the equivalent of wet floors to unaided feet. Only Hoshi didn't seem to have a problem with moving along on the roofs. It was highly amusing to see her Sensei and teammate shove each other around in order to get to the bath first. In the end, Anko was the one who arrived first, and insisted in sharing with Rin. Hoshi and Obito had disappeared along with Obito's toiletries, leading the petite medic to believe her pointy-eared teammate knew of another place to take a bath. She returned to the Houses of Healing to look after Eowyn, and Merry. Eowyn was in a restless slumber, tossing and occasionally mumbling things in Rohirric. The Suna shinobi were off with Minato-sensei, deciding what they were going to do. While Rin was stitching up Merry's arm, the hobbit gave her a worried look.

"Rin, Eowyn seems to be under the impression I helped her slay the Witch-King," he said, in a bemused tone.

The medic looked up at him in surprise. "Really?" she said, finishing the stitching.

"Yes!" cried Pippin, looking up from a plate of plain-looking food. "Odd, isn't it?"

"Very odd," she muttered. There was a sudden tap on her shoulder, causing her to jump with a quiet yelp. The petite brunette turned around to see Hoshi, holding a bowl of steaming, sweet-smelling water and a rag.

"Would you like me to fix your arm?" he asked quietly.

Rin's eyes widened._ *"You can heal like your father?"* _she whispered, surprised.

_*__"Yes,"* _he said, rolling up her sleeve to see the injured arm. _*"Well to an extent. Nothing very serious, although learning to use chakra has helped,"*_

Hoshi dipped the rag into the hot water and, lifting the piece of cloth out and squeezing it, getting rid of excess water. As he put the rag on her arm, the faintly gleaming boy began to sing softly.

_Hear my plea,_

_Gentle Estë,_

_and heal these hurts. _

_Clean this blood,_

_tainted and sick._

_Hear me, Estë_

_Free her limbs,_

_bound by blight._

_O, Lady Gentle _

_Release her mind,_

_from the shadow._

_So, help me,_

_Wife of Irmo._

_Gentle Estë,_

_heal Rin, please."_

An alien, yet soothing chakra began to flow through her arm, releasing the slight pressure she felt around her chakra. The slightly haunting prayer and the sweet smell seemed to put her on another, more mysterious plane of existance.

_"Holy Hokages, I am high," _ she realized. Then the chakra dissapted, having finished its job. Rin came down from that vaguely euphoric place, and suddenly embraced Hoshi, who looked surprised.

"What are you hugging me for?" he asked tiredly.

Rin was about to thank the thin boy when she noticed a new presence just inside the threshold. Aragorn and Lothíriel were helping Faramir walk into the room. All of them were frozen in place, their eyes wide in shock. The medic knew that her hug wasn't the cause. She quickly let go, her eyes flicking toward the new arrivals, and back to her oblivious companions. Hoshi picked up the bowl of steaming water, and promptly drank it.

"What are you doing?!" cried Merry, shocked. "You will burn your throat!"

The pointy-eared genin shook his head. "I've done this many times before. It's perticularly useful for any sort of gastrointestinal ailment,"

Finally, Pippin looked up from his food and saw the newcomers. "Faramir!" he cried. "How do you fare?"

Hoshi jumped to his feet, his face white. "H-hello Captain Faramir. It is good to see you awake,"

The injured man nodded, his right arm in a sling. "I am faring as well as a man can in this condition," he answered with a small smile. "It is good to see that you all made it through the battle, more or less unscathed,"

Aragorn was staring intently at Hoshi, who was beginning to squirm. "How long have you been able to heal?" the ranger inquired. "Who taught you?"

"I've been capable of healing insignifiact ills and hurts since I was nine," the pale boy stuttered, fiddling with the rag. "My parents taught me,"

Lothíriel looked intriuged. "Who are your parents?"

The adopted Uchiha folded his arms across his chest. "Guess," he said in a sarcastic, daring voice. The rapid change in voice and posture caught the healer off guard.

"Hoshi, be nice," warned Rin, placing a hand on his arm.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I think I'll be nice when people stop poking their noses into my business," he grumbled.

"Truth be told, you are rather nosy yourself," commented Pippin through a mouthful of bread. Hoshi's lanky body tensed, and Rin could hear him grinding his teeth together. Eowyn had been awakened at some point, and was sitting up, a bewildered look on her face.

"What is going on?" she asked, her voice slurred and slightly hourse. Her blue eyes focused on Faramir, who was staring back at her.

"Who is this?" she asked in a monotone.

"I am Faramir, son of Denethor," answered the decesed Steward's son. "I beg your pardon, but I will be sharing this room with you for the time being,"

Eowyn gave him a short nod. "Eowyn, Éomund's daughter," she introduced herself. Aragorn and Lothíriel helped Faramir onto the bed across from her. The dark-blonde man still carried an air of illness about him, and had a haunted look in his eyes. Eowyn looked perfectly fine, but had an aura of cold depression around her. Aragorn straightened up and fixed Hoshi with a commanding look. Rin immediately felt the urge to comply to any order he might give then and there.

"Since you are apparently adept at healing, I want you to assist me here in the Houses," he said, somehow making the demand seem like a request.

Hoshi literally whilted. "I can bandage and stitch, but I can't do any more of that healing with _athelas_," he said softly, his head bowed with shame.

The ranger frowned, a concerned look on his face. "Why not?" he asked.

"If I use _athelas_ more than twice a day on someone other than myself, I get sick to my stomach. If I use them more than five times, I could fall into a coma," he explained, a blush coloring his face and neck.

A look of understanding crossed his face. "It is alright. Can you still help me?" he asked, an uncertian look in his grey eyes.

"I...I think so," he said quietly, almost to himself. "I believe Minato-sensei and the others are also helping out, so why not?"

A small smile flitted across Aragorn's face and he awkwardly patted Hoshi on the head before leaving the room. The lanky boy looked shell-shocked, his grey eyes wide. Suddenly a large smile crossed his face and he ran out of the room without another word.

"What's gotten into him?" asked Merry, who was talking between bites of his lunch. Pippin stole a small potato off his cousin's plate and shrugged.

"How shall we ever know?" he said. "It is not as if he will ever explain himself fully,"

Lothtíriel frowned, giving Eowyn a plate of food. "Who are his parents Rin?" she asked.

"Yes" added Eowyn, nodding fiercely. "I would like to know the truth myself,"

Faramir's brow furrowed. "The truth?" he wondered aloud, curious.

"Legolas, Prince of the Woodland Realm, seems to believe Aragorn is Hoshi's father," explain Eowyn flatly, her eyes glued to her plate. "Something about that idea doesn't quite sit with me,"

"You know, he might be right," said Rin thoughfully. "but he also could be wrong,"

The five people in the room looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer. Thankfully, an interruption brought an end in an increasingly awkward silence.

_*__"Oi, Medic!"* _howled Sho from the doorway._ *"Where's your little time-traveling teammate? He has my fan!"*_

The petite brunette sighed through her nose. "Sorry, but I have to help Sho find Hoshi and make sure neither kill each other. I'll see you around," she said apologetically.

At that, she quickly left the room.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Aragorn was in turmoil. There was no denying it now; Hoshi was definately of his line. The question now was, how far down the line was he? The ranger shook his head. It was surreal enough to have someone from the future, but now that person was a relative of his and possibly his son... It was enough to make the Dunedain want to scream. But Aragorn forced himself to focus on the task at hand, which was setting a broken leg. Oddly enough, Susano'o was helping him, while singing a song in a strange language. The boy must have done something to the song, because in spite of hearing the strange words, the ranger could understand him.

_The bee shall honey taste no more, _

_the dove become a ranger _

_The falling waters cease to roar, _

_ere I shall seek to change her _

_The vows we made to heav'n above _

_shall ever cheer and bind me _

_In constancy to her I love,_

_the girl I left behind me._

Aragorn was surprised by the song's topic. "What language do you sing in?" he asked.

Susano'o gave him an airy smile. "An odd little one. My mother calls it English, and all shinobi know words from it. However, very few know where it comes from where it came from and who first spoke it,"

"It comes from England," said Hoshi, who was stitching up the side of an unfortunate Rohir. "If you want to know more, ask Gandalf around year 11 of the Fourth Age,"

At the thin boy's declaration, Aragorn frowned. "Wouldn't Gandalf be in Valinor by then?" he asked.

The young Gondorian nodded. "Yes, but it is a long story involving doors, letters and a good many owls and wizards. There is no way I am telling you in full,"

They lapsed into silence, and the ranger finished setting the soldier's leg. Susano'o checked the bandages and nodded, before heading to another bed. The man Hoshi was attending to had numerous other hurts, so Aragorn joined the thin boy to help him. Wordlessly they worked side by side, with the ranger cleaning the Rohir's cuts and splinting a sprained wrist. The dark-haired child finished sewing up the man's side, and looked up him.

"A-Aragorn, could you bandage the torso, please?" he asked, holding up the strips. He nodded and took the strips, freeing Hoshi to help someone else. All the shinobi were helping in one way or another. Minato and Kakashi assisted the surgeons, while Rin and Kuro performed surguries themselves. Anko and Obito, both who did not possess a sufficient amount of medical knowledge, ended up doing odd jobs, such as serving food to patients that could eat. Hoshi and Susano'o did simple bandaging and stitching, but the dark-skinned shinobi had taken it upon himself to sing songs and entertain the injured men. Eventually, he goaded Hoshi into singing while he played an instrument. With a huff, the pale boy sang the song he performed earlier in Meduseld in the shinobi's language, mostly for the Rohir that made up the majority of men in the room. Aragorn tuned out the odd music, concentrating on healing a punctured lung.

_*"Sayonara aenaku nattatte,_

_bokura wa tsudzuki ga aru kara._

_Boku ga tsukuru sekai nande _

_hashiru yo itsuka mita mirai mo, koete,"*_

The ranger looked up to see Minato, wearing a blood-stained apron, standing beside him.

"You are looking dead on your feet, my friend," the yellow-haired man said kindly.

Aragorn nodded, and ran a hand through his filthy hair. He was still wearing his dusty cloak and dirty clothes. The only clean things he wore were the Evenstar and the Elessar brooch.

"What you need is a good bath and some rest," the jōnin continued amicably, putting a hand on the Dunedain's shoulder. "Come, Gandalf's being kind enough to lend us his house,"

Normally, Aragorn would have turned down the offer, and continued to heal, but something in the shinobi's voice sounded so compelling that the ranger found himself standing up and allowing Minato to steer him out of the houses. It did not take long for the two to reach the Istari's house. The jōnin lead him in through the back door, whose lock he clearly picked.

"Gandalf is holding a little meeting with Imrahil, Eomer and the other commanders," explained Minato. "It would not be advisable to introduce yourself to them while you look like a dead rat,"

Aragorn gave his companion a irritated look and climbed up the stairs. The jōnin darted in front of him, and pointed to the bathroom.

"The water should be hot, please use the soap and other things I left out for you. I couldn't find much in the way of clean clothes, so I ended up giving them to Obito and Hoshi to clean them. There is a possibility they burned some of them, but they really did smell,"

Now truely irritated, Aragorn strode into the bathroom and closed the door with a significant amount of force.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Minato was bewildered by the ranger's annoyance toward him.

_"Maybe I was getting too chatty,"_ he thought. He never really was a chatty sort of person, but sometimes words carried him away. The jōnin was very curious to see what Aragorn was going to do to get Sauron to take the bait, and very much wanted to be in on the plan. The only thing he could do was find Hoshi and hear what his student knew. In order to save time, the Yellow Flash teleported to his student, scaring the daylights out of the healers. None of the patients reacted, excepts for a chuckle here and there. Hoshi was stitching up the palm of a rider's hand as the two discussed horses. Minato tapped the lanky genin's shoulder.

"Hoshi, can I talk with you?" he asked.

"In a minute, Sensei," he answered, finishing the stitches and wrapping a bandage around the closed wound. When he was done, the pointy-eared boy stood up and looked expectantly at his teacher.

"We need to go to a more private place," Minato explained, beginning to walk out of the Houses. Hoshi followed him, murmuring quietly.

_What did you see in the Seeing Stone?_

_Is it the Eye, fiery and red?_

_Or your lady love, cold and dead?_

_Oh, what did you see in the Seeing Stone?_

They entered an abandoned warehouse and sat down. Hoshi shivered, pulling his cloak close to his body.

"What is it you wish to know?" he asked.

Minato folder his hands in front of his face, and explained his business.

"Do you know what Aragorn is planning? If so, tell me what you know,"

A wary look crossed Hoshi's pale, faintly glowing face. "It involves a palantír, and it will take place in the throne room. Why do you want to know?"

His student was obviously holding back information, but it didn't quite matter. "I simply want to be in on the plan and be present when it unfolds," he said.

The adopted Uchiha nodded slowly. "Then make sure everything is in order, and please keep an eye on him," he said. Minato was struck by how commanding Hoshi was, and the confidence he carried himself with as he walked out of the rotting building. The jōnin stood up, and snuck up into the Citadel. Avoiding guards, he peeked into the throne room. The palantír, wrapped in a piece of brown cloth, sat innocently on the steps leading up to the king's throne.

_"Odd place to put that," _he thought. Then his keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching the hall. Remembering that he had tagged one of Gandalf's doors, the jōnin _hiraishin-ed_ back to the house. It was only when he accidently kicked open the door that he realized he had tagged the bathroom door. After being cursed at in Elvish and having a bar of soap thrown at him, Minato quickly closed the door.

"Sorry Aragorn!" he yelled as quietly as he could.

The clean ranger was out a few minutes after that, glaring at the jōnin.

"I'm sorry!" apologized the jōnin. "I forgot that I tagged that perticular door,"

Aragorn sighed through his nose and walked into a guest room. Legolas and Gimli were already in there, cleaning their weapons.

"What happened?" asked the elf, who was fletching his arrows. Minato idly wondered what bird produced that shade of green for their feathers.

"Minato appeared on the door and as a result it opened as I was taking a bath," Aragorn answered tonelessly.

Gimli laughed. "Men are too self-concious!" he declared.

"Indeed," agreed Legolas. "If it was an accident, I do not see the problem,"

The dark-haired ranger glowered at the two, but said nothing. Minato decided to kill time and keep relabeling all of his tags in orc blood. Sitting next to Aragorn, he took out his brush, the blood, and several blank tags. The ranger had retrieved his sword and was cleaning and sharpening it.

"What is your plan to trick Sauron?" asked Gimli, a curious look on his face.

The tall man looked reluctant to disclose his scheme. Minato thought about using a barrier Jiraiya-sensei created, but he was almost positive that it made evesdroppers think the topic of conversation was on women.

"I can put a sound-proof barrier up," he offered. But Aragorn shook his head.

"It is not that important a plan," said the ranger. "All I am going to do is introduce myself to Sauron from the Palantír of the White Tower and make him think I took the ring from Pippin,"

Legolas frowned. "But the palantír is broken. It can only display Denethor's hands, burning and crumbling,"

"It will work for me," Aragorn said confidantly. "It is my birthright, is it not?"

The archer still looked uneasy. "You should have someone go with you, just in case things go wrong,"

"I will go!" Minato volunteered, delighted for the opportunity.

Aragorn gave the jōnin a concerned look. "Why are you so keen in joining me?" he asked.

The Yellow Flash shrugged. "I just happen to have a difficultly sated curiosity at times," he explained.

The ranger nodded warily, reluctantly accepting his new company. "After dinner, we will leave for the Citadel,"

‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡

After a chaotic and utterly bewhildering meal, Minato and Aragorn slipped out to the Citadel. Walking across the shadowy courtyard with the skeletal white tree, the jōnin shuddered. Aragorn stopped in front of the white tree, and unsheathed his sword. A wind whistled through its bony branches, shaking the leafless tree. The ranger kneld down and held his sword up; as if he were presenting the blade to the ethreal plant, which appeared to nod its approval as the wind rushed around them. The shinobi was in awe with how connected the man and tree seemed to be. Minato inhaled to cool night air, ready to follow Aragorn when the man finally stood up. The grey-eyed ranger silently lead the way, and carefully opened the doors to the throne room. The beautiful stone hall was bathed in moonlight, especially the king's white throne. The palantír was waiting on the ivory steps, still wrapped up in the brown cloth. The jōnin slowly closed the dark, heavy door, and lingered behind the ranger. Aragorn strode forward, his sword gripped in his right hand. He came to a stop, then dropped to his knees before the bundled orb. Moving his left hand cautiously forward, Aragorn flipped the covering off the palantír. The was a sudden surge of chakra, and the ranger flinched, looking away. Hesitantly, he hand hovered over the stone before seizing it in powerful confidence. He lifted it up, forcing himself to look into the sphere. The palantír turned into a fivery orange, and a horrible presence filled the room. Trembling slightly, Minato moved closer. Aragorn was staring down a terrifying reptilian eye without the slightest bit of fear about him.

"Long have you hunted me," he growled. "Long have I eluded you. No more,"

With a smooth, powerful movement, Aragorn displayed his sword to Sauron, challenging him.

"Behold the Sword of Elendil!" he declared, a triumphant look in his eyes. The presence changed from one of haughty confidence to cold terror. Minato was wracking his brain to figure out just what Aragorn had said to disturb the evil eye to the point it was metaphorically wetting itself in fear. But Sauron's fear did not last long. The smug arrogance returned, and he seemed to be showing the ranger something. Aragorn's eyes widened, his sword dropping back to his side. A terrified look appeared on his face as he leapt to his feet, all but tossing the palantír. As he did so, the clasp on the necklace he wore broke, and it dropped to the floor. Jumping into action, Minato caught the necklace and the runaway Seeing Stone before either could get damaged. The jōnin stood up, looking the ranger over. Aragorn was breathing heavily and shaking slightly, a distressed look on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. The tall man tried to say something, but his throat had closed up, and no words came out. Minato threw an arm around his shoulder and steered him to the steps.

"Come on, sit down," he said, sitting down beside him. "Breath in, breath out. It's going to be alright,"

Aragorn breathed in a shuddering breath, and exhaled, not looking the calmer for it.

"Your necklace broke," the jōnin said, trying to be casual. "But it can be fixed," He opened his hand and offered the cracked jewel to the ranger, who seemed to almost come to tears because of it. Minato sighed.

"What did you see in the palantír?" he asked, curiosity eating him from the inside out.

"Arwen," he croaked. The jōnin flipped through his memories, recalling mentions of her name, but he knew nothing about her.

"Who is she?" he asked.

Aragorn gave him a watery smile. "My betrothed," he said softly. "Sauron is killing her,"

"Oh, she is the one you mentioned before we went into the Paths of the Dead," realized the shinobi. "She will get better,"

"Only if we bring down Sauron," he responded, a morose look on his face. "Even then..."

"Ah," Minato rubbed the back of his head, not knowing what to say. How he wished Jiraiya-sensei was here.

"You know what?" said the jōnin as lightly as he dared. "Let's go back to Gandalf's house and get some rest. Lingering here in the cold isn't going to make you feel better,"

Aragorn nodded silently, sheathing his sword. Minato got to his feet and offered the tall man a hand, which he accepted. They began to walk out of the hall, the sound of their footsteps echoing off the hall. Then a voice froze them in their tracks.

"Where do you think you are going?"


	26. Chapter 26

**AN:**

**Thank you Sorceric7 and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you nhwaun1 and Nyny1992 for following. Another thank you goes to InOnePiece and Liliesshadow for favoring my works.**

**I have nothing other to say than I am utterly sorry for taking so long to post this. Real Life, I hate you. **

**But Thanks for all the support and on with the show!**

Obito would readily admit that he wasn't in the best of moods. He was sweaty, and covered in dirt, blood, and dust. The goggles-wearer barely paid attention to the meeting held in the cold stone throne room, and kept pinching himself to try and stay awake. His stomach growled, reminding him that he did not eat anything that day. The call for a bath woke the Uchiha up, and soon the genin was racing alongside his sensei and peers to get to Gandalf's house first. Needless to say, the unfortunate Uchiha was last, just behind Hoshi, who had pushed Minato-sensei off a roof and ended up following the sunny jōnin to the ground.

"No luck?" asked the grey-eyed boy, who was holding his splinted arm gingerly.

"As usual," Obito answered with a sigh. His adopted brother shrugged, and beckoned with his chin.

"Well, if you don't have luck," Hoshi said airily as he strode into the impromptu storage room. "Make it yourself"

He threw a scroll containing Obito's toiletries to the short-haired boy, who caught it with surprise.

"Just what are you planning?" the dark-eyed genin asked, suspicious.

"You'll see," Hoshi replied evasively, holding his own scroll and a dirty knapsack. "Just follow me,"

Too tired to argue, the Uchiha followed his brother down the stairs and through a narrow closet door. He was mildly surprised to find himself in an underground network of tunnels but his taller teammate seemed to know what he was doing. Obito could feel his head swim as he tried to remember their path, but Hoshi was moving at such a brisk pace that it was impossible.

"Hoshi, where are we going?" he asked, sliding down a particularly sharp descent.

"I took the liberty of gathering a few dirty clothes from Gimli, Legolas, and Ada," answered his faintly glowing teammate, holding up the knapsack. "There is a washerwoman who I know will take care of these clothes in a short amount of time, no questions asked,"

"Oh," responded Obito. "But how are you going to pay for it?"

The pointy-eared boy grinned. "I am the son of a King," he said. "I am by no means poor,"

The young Uchiha readjusted the slipping goggles and frowned at his brother. "About that, why didn't you tell me that you were royalty?"

They reached a dead end, and Hoshi felt around before pushing on a stone and sliding the exit open.

"Because it did not matter," he answered. "It never did. Please stay here; I will be back shortly,"

Obito stifled a yawn, and, leaning against the wall, sunk to the dirt floor.

"_Might as well take a nap while I have free time,"_ he thought. His heavy eyelids dropped shut, and he fell into a surprisingly deep sleep.

"UCHIHA OBITO!" the blue-clad genin was jolted awake by Hoshi yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Ready to get clean?" he asked, a mischievous look on his face.

With an indifferent shrug, Obito stood up and followed his strangely exuberant friend. Hoshi cheerfully lead him up the ascending tunnels, and effortlessly climbed the steeper parts of the path. After climbing up a dizzying spiral staircase, they were once again facing a dusty ivory wall. Instead of sliding, the door swung out after Hoshi gave it a strong push. The pointy-eared boy carefully stuck his head out, looked around, and beckoned his brother to join him. They had ended up in what appeared to be a sitting room, but it was hard to tell due to the Spartan setup. The stonework in the room, however, was very beautiful.

"Just keep your voice down and we should be fine," Hoshi explained quietly, not even giving the room a second glance as he crossed the beautiful floor. Suspicious, Obito hesitantly followed his foster brother out into the hallway. The large, airy space was bathed with light from a large window at the end of the corridor, and smaller windows close to the ceiling. A long tapestry hung on the wall, and the strange weaving appeared to be telling a story. Obito stopped in front of a grim scene depicting a tsunami swallowing up an island.

"The Fall of Númenor, an island in the west where my people came from," Hoshi commented softly. "The King, corrupted by Sauron, led an armada into the West to attack the Valar and gain immortality. However, the Valar handed the control of Arda back Eru Ilúvatar, who broke and remade the world, sinking Númenor,"

"What are the Valar?" asked Obito, confused. "And who is Eru?"

The grey-eyed genin gently pulled the Uchiha away from the unnerving tapestry and down the hall.

"Eru Ilúvatar is the maker of Arda, the creator of Men and Elves, and giver of life," explained Hoshi, his voice slipping into an Elvish accent. "The Valar are helpers of Ilúvatar who chose to enter Arda, shape it, and take responsibility for the creation living on it,"

They stopped in front of a beautifully carved door. Obito rubbed the back of his head, feeling awkward.

"I never took you as a religious type," he said as his companion opened the door.

Hoshi shrugged. "In the days of old, the King was regarded as the earthly contact with Ilúvatar. There still are holy places where only the King is allowed to go. Now, do you want a bath or not?"

‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE BROKE INTO THE PALACE?!" Obito roared, his voice echoing off the tunnel walls.

"Scream louder and you will wake the dead," grumbled his teammate who was covering his pointed ears.

"We can't just walk in to the King's quarters and use the bathroom!" he cried, indignant. "What were you thinking? Aragorn is going to be pissed when he finds out! You never did anything like this back in Konoha,"

Hoshi looked genuinely ashamed. "I…guess I wasn't thinking properly. But if that was such a problem, why did you tag along with me until now?"

"Touché," mumbled the Uchiha as they reached the bottom of a familiar staircase. His taller teammate climbed the stairs with east and swung open the door without the least bit of caution. There was a startled yelp as Anko jumped backwards to avoid getting hit by the sturdy wooden door.

"Where the heck were you two?" she snapped. "Hoshi, you have to go help out at the Houses of Healing, so scoot!"

Looking slightly cowed, the lanky bow darted off, braiding back his dark hair as he ran off.

"And you," the kunoichi seized Obito's arm and dragged him down the hallway. They ended up in the kitchen, where Anko practically threw him into a straight-backed chair. Kakashi was leaning on the wall next to the chair, and Anko dropped down onto a stool on the Hatake's other side. Across a thick wooden table sat Eomer, who wore a serious look on his face. A plate of half-eaten chicken sat a ways away from the Rohir. Obito felt his stomach growl.

"Help yourself," said the man with a short wave of the hand. The Uchiha slowly reached out and pulled the plate closer to him. As the genin carefully plucked the remaining meat off the bone, Eomer began to speak.

"According to a discussion with Merry, the three of you were involved in getting Eowyn to battle unnoticed,"

"So what if we were?" answered Anko defensively. "What's wrong with helping her out?"

"My sister was supposed to return to Meduseld and rule the country until we returned," Eomer answered sternly. "She could have been killed in battle,"

"Eowyn was needed in battle," Kakashi pointed out softly. "She was with us and Merry, and was more than capable of holding her own. Without her the Witch-King would not be dead,"

"Rin or Anko were perfectly capable of killing the Lord of the Nazgûl themselves," the Rider returned. "As long it was not a man that attempted to kill him, the Witch-King would have fallen,"

Anko's brown eyes widened in surprise and she sat up straight. Kakashi stiffened, his head jerking up to look at Eomer. Obito continued to eat, unphased.

"Hoshi never told you about that?" the blond man did not look too surprised. "I suspected as much,"

"The information is no longer relevant," Kakashi said dully.

"He doesn't seem to care that my sister could have died!" Eomer growled, his eyes flashing with bad temper.

"Relax, she lives through this," Obito said, setting his plate down. "Hoshi seems to know her well. In fact, he compiled a book of tales from our home for her, and was intending to give it to Ice Princess when he returns home,"

Eomer's eye brows shot up toward his hairline upon hearing the news and nickname.

"Hey," added Anko. "She wanted adventure and renown and she has earned it. Better for her to get it out of her system while she can,"

"Except she hasn't," the Rohir refuted with a frown. "When I visited to inform her of our departure in two days, she begged for me to allow her to come. It was only when Lothíriel, Imrahil's daughter and a healer, assured her that she would not be able to fight with her injuries that she back down and agreed to stay,"

A haunted look crossed Kakashi's face. "So Eowyn is suicidal," he said flatly.

"Why would she be suicidal?" said Anko. "Not to be cheesy or anything but she has so much to live for. What happened to make her so depressed?"

Obito was hit by an utterly unexpected flash of understanding. "Aragorn rejected her,"

All eyes turned to the Uchiha, surprised.

"That's it?!" howled Anko incredulously. "What the hell? Why is she so cut up about Mr. Ranger turning her down? Come to think of it, isn't he married or something? Anyways, she doesn't need a bloody man to be happy. Honestly!"

Eomer appeared to be intrigued by the violet-haired kunoichi's outburst. "It is not that Eowyn needed Aragorn," he said softly. "He merely gave her hope to move forward, and she admired what he represented. Somewhere along the line she confused what Aragorn represented with who he actually is, and her admiration turned into infatuation," The Rohir sighed. "She has not been able to completely shake the effects of the Black Breath, and it seems to be increasing its hold over her. Unfortunately, there is nothing more I can do about it,"

The blonde man stood up and sighed, looking drained. "You are dismissed," he said tiredly and walked out of the kitchen, probably to take a well-deserved nap.

The three Konoha nin sat in silence for about a second. Then Hoshi strolled into the room, holding a bag of presumably clean laundry.

"Hey mister!" said Anko, her arms folded across her chest. "We need to discuss something with you,"

Confused, Hoshi took Eomer's recently vacated seat and sat down, the knapsack on his lap.

"What is it that you wish to discuss?" he asked, his back ramrod straight.

"Why didn't you tell us that the Witch-King could be killed by any girl, and that Eowyn was supposed to stay home and rule Rohan?" said Kakashi in a monotone. "Then she would not be in a suicidal depression,"

An irritated look flashed across the adopted Uchiha's face. "First off, I had no chance to tell any of you anything about the Witch-King. Second, she would have been depressed no matter what. Since she is here, there is a chance of her healing," he answered tightly.

"How?" demanded Kakashi. "I am sure that you don't have antidepressants and counseling,"

Hoshi rolled his eyes. "If you guys don't meddle, it will turn out fine. Eowyn doesn't need medication, she needs a friend,"

"And we can't do that because…?" said Anko, leaning forward.

"If you are willing to stay behind in Middle Earth to keep Eowyn out of a severe depression, be my guest," Hoshi said, his hands folded on the table. "I, however, do not plan on you staying, so I am going to encourage a friendship between the White Lady and Lord Faramir,"

Obito's eyes widened with understanding. "Oh! Since they both have the Black Breath they can support one another on equal ground, and he seems like the type of person not to judge her for being a Shield maiden,"

Kakashi looked wary. "Are they happily married in your time?"

"'Happy' doesn't even being to cover how healthy their marriage is," Hoshi answered. "If Eowyn was stuck in an unhappy marriage, I would do anything to get her out of it, future be damned,"

The Hatake relaxed, and then smiled at his teammate. "How can we help?"

"Can we?" said Obito. "We are going to be away while Hoshi is matchmaking. The only one who is in position to help is Rin,"

"Just allow me to take care of things," said Hoshi, standing up. "I will see you in the Houses of Healing,"

The elf-like boy strolled out of the kitchen, whistling a tuneless song.

"The Houses of Healing?" asked Obito. "But I can't heal,"

"We all can perform basic first aid," said Anko, who was leading the two boys out the door. "That has to count for something,"

The Uchiha sighed. "How long will we be there?" he wondered aloud.

"As long as it takes," answered Kakashi with a small smirk.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

The Hatake's head was vaguely aching when he and the other shinobi returned to Gandalf's house. The fight that erupted just outside the Houses of Healing between Hoshi and Sho over a lost fan nearly gave the chūnin a massive headache as he attempted to mediate the argument. Kakashi was rather surprised that Sensei did not show up to break up the fight. Luckily, Hoshi suffered nothing more than a split lip and the loss of his necklace, which he was torn up about. "Are you okay, Hoshi?" asked Kuro, a worried look on his face. "You look a little pale,"

Kakashi had to agree. His teammate seemed to have lost his faint aura.

"I am fine," answered Hoshi softly. "But I am worried about all of you,"

Kuro looked confused, and stuffed his hand deep into his pockets. "Why?" he asked.

"Because all of you have been shivering every time a gust of wind blows by," the lanky boy laughed.

"Hogwash," grumbled Susano'o, his teeth chattering slightly as a breeze caused his bandages to flutter briefly.

"Indeed," Hoshi laughed, opening the sturdy door. The shivering shinobi quickly filed in after their tall comrade. The smell of stew floated past them, drawing the hungry genin into the kitchen. Gandalf and Gimli sat at the table, surrounded by chopped vegetables, while Legolas and Minato-sensei were hovering over a pot by the fireplace, clearly unsure about their next move. Aragorn was sitting by the window, reading one of Hoshi's translated booklets.

"I was under the impression that there would be a larger crowd for dinner," said Obito, sitting down next to Gimli.

"I am glad that there isn't because I have no idea what I am doing," said Minato-sensei, still looking into the pot. "Can you cook, Hoshi?"

The pointy-eared genin looked taken aback. "My sister tried to teach me how to cook squirrels," he said hesitantly. "It didn't go over well,"

Legolas' head shot up. "You have a sister?" he asked.

"One older, two younger," Hoshi answered, looking into the cooking pot. "The younger two are twins. What in Isildur's name is this?"

The two blondes shrugged. "I wish I knew," commented Legolas. "I am a bit afraid to eat it,"

Out of nowhere Anko swooped down, and took a spoonful of the mystery stew.

"You could get food poisoning if it wasn't cooked properly," Kakashi reminded her with a small smile.

"Just because some of us have tender stomachs doesn't mean we all do," the kunoichi scolded. "It really isn't half bad. As long as nobody discloses the ingredients, we should be fine,"

"Why should knowing the ingredients matter?" asked Susano'o, who was searching for a few bowls.

"Would you eat something that has worms and pig testicles in it?" retorted Anko, stealthily trying to steal more of the stew.

"I think I just lost my appetite," said Kuro, looking green. Hoshi gave the stew a double take, and then shrugged, clearly apathetic. When enough bowls were found, everyone sat down to eat. Kakashi poked the oddly monochrome stew with his abused, standard-issue metal spork. The Hatake carefully speared a piece of mystery meat and chewed it carefully. It felt like he was eating spiced wine, not that he knew what it tasted like. The others seemed to be eating the food just fine, so Kakashi continued to eat.

"Where is Pippin?" asked Gandalf, who had finished his meal before everyone else. "I thought that he was going to return with you,"

"He decided to stay with Merry," answered Rin. "It has been a long day for the both of them, and they need the assurance that they are safe,"

The White Wizard nodded, with a look of understanding in his eyes. The table settled back into silence before Kuro broke the quiet.

"So, what's up for tomorrow?" he asked.

Minato-sensei looked thoughtful. "You and Rin probably will still be needed to help with the hospital. The rest of you will be helping with clean-up and possibly burial. But if it turns out that you are not needed, do what you like as long as it is reasonable,"

"They should not be needed to bury the dead," commented Aragorn. "I do not believe that man power is a problem, but getting the necessary supplies will be."

The yellow-haired-jōnin shrugged. "We'll see tomorrow,"

Kakashi could see Hoshi poking at his congealing stew, having barely touched it. His teammate wore an absent-minded look on his pale face. Obito seemed to be sneaking things into his brother's bowl, while the pointy-eared boy didn't seem to notice.

Kuro was face-down in the empty bowl, snoring lightly. Anko and Rin yawned in harmony, but Rin was polite enough to cover her mouth. Susano'o did not look so relaxed. He fidgeted in his seat, and kept checking the progress of others on their dinner.

"Are you expecting a visitor?" asked Hoshi with a small smile, surprising everyone at the table.

"No," answered the bandaged genin, looking vaguely embarrassed. "I would just like to be excused so I could listen to the war news on the radio,"

Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow. _"How in the world is that radio picking up a station?"_ he thought.

"You are all excused," Minato-sensei said with a smile. "But make sure to get some sleep!"

Susano'o practically flew out of his chair, only pausing to drag his sleeping teammate after him.

Anko stretched, not even attempting to hide her yawn.

"G'night everyone," she proclaimed mid-yawn and followed her teammates. Rin and Obito left at the same time, saying their good-nights and sticking the bowls they had collected into a basin of water. Only Hoshi and Kakashi remained at the table.

"When are you going to confront Sour-on?" asked the Hatake, curious.

Aragorn blinked, apparently caught off guard. It looked as if he didn't have an answer to the question.

"Right after I finish this," answered Sensei, surprising Kakashi.

"You are going with A-Aragorn?" asked Hoshi, looking surprised.

"No sane person should have to confront a giant fiery eyeball alone," Minato-sensei continued cheerfully as he stood up from the table. "Let's go, Strider,"

The tall man stood up, inclined his head in farewell, and followed the sunny jōnin out the door.

Gandalf wore an intrigued look on his face. "What was Aragorn's plan?" he wondered aloud.

"He was going to bait Sauron by revealing his identity as the heir of Isildur and pretending to have the Ring," answered Gimli. "Minato is going with him just in case things go sour,"

"I hope they do not," whispered Hoshi, a wistful look on his face.

There was the sound of feet rapidly hitting the floor as they ran to the kitchen. Kakashi looked over to the doorway in time to see a white-faced Obito skid into the room.

"Hoshi, Kakashi, you have to listen to what's on the radio, now!"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

The air in the throne room must have dropped two degrees, as nothing broke the chilling silence. Minato and Aragorn had frozen upon hearing the silky voice echo through the hall. Warily, they turned around, looking for the source of the voice. Minato's blue eyes darted around, finding nothing. But Aragorn was cautiously walking back toward the abandoned palantír, with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Orochimaru?" he asked, hesitantly, picking up the Seeing Stone.

"No, your Great-Aunt Sally," the Snake Sannin responded sarcastically, an furious look on his face. "How's the family?"

A look of cold anger crossed the ranger's face, and his free hand clenched into a fist. Minato quickly went over to Aragorn's side, his eyes narrow.

"Watch it, Orochimaru," the jōnin rebuked him, warning the serpentine man.

The white-skinned shinobi gave him a scathing look. "You also would be in a rotten mood if you had to explain your tactics." He sneered. "As "unethical" as they might be, they are right now saving Konoha's collective behind from getting crushed by Iwa. Do you know how many times I tried to get into contact with you?" he practically yelled. "No a single response, and when I finally got in touch you two had the gall to walk away from me!"

Minato frowned, feeling confused. "Wait, where are you?" he asked.

"Mount Myōboku," Orochimaru answered sourly.

"What are you doing there?" the jōnin asked, bewildered.

"Well I obviously wasn't going to take two hobbits to the Ryūchi Cave for safekeeping, and Konoha was defiantly out of the question,"

"Two hobbits?" interrupted Aragorn, a shocked look on his face. "You found Frodo and Sam?"

The Snake Sannin nodded. "Yes. Tell me, who the hell thought it was a brilliant idea to send two utterly defenseless creatures with a dark object to its maker? It has completely ruined the mental health of the one carrying it!"

Minato was in a state of shock. "WHAT IS THE RING DOING ON MOUNT MYŌBOKU?!" he howled, snatching the palantír from Aragorn's hand.

"Would you rather I allow Frodo to go off and get captured, or bring him to a safe place where he can heal at least a little bit?" snapped Orochimaru. "Jiraiya is here with me, and he seems to have taken a liking to them. If you don't mind, I have contacted you to ask what your next move is and what you have been doing since I left,"

"Who are you talking to?" asked a deep, familiar voice.

"Sensei!" cried Minato, a delighted look on his face. The white-haired toad sage moved into view, and a large smile crossed his face.

"Minato! How has my favorite student been?" he asked.

"So, this is your teacher?" asked Aragorn, a mildly disconcerted look on his face.

The yellow-haired jōnin nodded. "He is a bit on the lecherous side, but I doubt that that particular topic would be broached in this conversation," he whispered. The ranger struggled to mask the disapproving look that crossed his face. The Yellow Flash shrugged; there wasn't much he could do about it.

"Toad, I am trying to talk to them right now," growled Orochimaru through gritted teeth.

His teammate waved him off. "So, did you like the draft?" he asked, with a hopeful look on his face.

Aragorn looked confused, while Minato winced, putting on a fake smile. "Uh, it was...good?"

The Snake Sannin looked ready to explode. "Oh for crying out loud, it was one of the basest, most morally defunct stories I had ever read, and was only in the first chapter, the first chapter!"

The ranger shot the Yellow Flash a questioning look. With a sigh, Minato quietly explained.

"Jiraiya-sensei is a writer. He makes up stories and puts them in books so people could buy them and read them. I really enjoyed his first book, but it did not make him a lot of money. So now he is trying his hand at writing what can tactfully be called 'romance novels', which seems to be in his area of interest,"

Aragorn's expression was a mix between fascination and disgust. Clearly he found the idea of novels and career authors interesting, but hated the idea of romance novels.

"Minato," said Jiraiya. "Thank Hoshi for me next time you see him. He gave me this plot idea which is a huge success with my editor. Now if you excuse me, I have to introduce Frodo and Sam to the wonders of the hot spring,"

All three men were struck dumb as the long, spiky-haired toad sage waltzed out of view. It was a while before Aragorn broke the silence with a defeated sigh.

"I hope that the tale Hoshi told him was not well-known or respected," he said.

Orochimaru arched an inky eyebrow, but said nothing on the matter. Minato idly wondered what story Hoshi told Sensei that inspired the lecherous man.

"_Hoshi isn't the type to know or retell sordid tales,"_ jōnin thought.

"As much fun it is to give commands to utter imbeciles," said Orochimaru smoothly. "I would very much like to piss off the Lord with Nine Fingers more and I cannot do that until you explain the situation to me. So tell me, Elessar, what is your plan?"

The ranger looked surprised, but ended up explaining the plan. The Snake Sannin fixed Aragorn with a toothy grin.

"The sins of the ancestor will aid the descendant," he purred. "You really are a fascinating person,"

The grey-eyed man seemed to be disturbed by the hungry expression that appeared in the pale shinobi's amber eyes for a moment before quickly fading.

"If you don't mind sharing," said Minato carefully. "What were you up to in Mordor?"

The serpentine man seemed to glace over his shoulder, an imperceptible paranoid look on his face.

"As you know, I went to that forsaken place to study to orcs that lived there," he started quietly. "It was surprisingly nice, the area I ended up in. The soil was fertile from the ash of volcanoes, and the orcs there were surprisingly cultured. Everything seemed perfect, until I saw the slave labor," he hissed. Aragorn's face had darkened, apparently familiar with the scene that was described to him.

"It seems that I am not alone in meeting these people," the Sannin said. "What a sad, pitiful group with no hope left. Not when the _Lord of Gifts_ was so kind to give them a confined life. So I, along with a couple hot-headed youths, decided to change the situation,"

"I am guessing it wasn't successful," commented Minato flatly.

An empty smile crossed Orochimaru's haunted face. "Sauron's servants took me to Barad-dûr, and decided that I should…_entertain _them. I feel like I lost something there, something that will never come back. I earned their trust, and was allowed to wander around that sickening place. Eventually, I was given command over the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and I left with the entire library of Barad-dûr and its palantír. I decided to make a little experiment out of the position, and attempted to humanize the orcs,"

Aragorn snorted through his nose, skeptical. The serpentine man did not look offended.

"Of course it was a doomed venture, but I was able to civilize them as much as I could. The one day an operative from ROOT showed up, lost,"

Minato suddenly went cold. "Please tell me you did not introduce orcs into our world," he said softly.

Orochimaru grit his teeth, an angry gleam in his eyes. "Oh, would you prefer genin on the front lines?" he hissed. "Because that was what was going on when I returned. Only three out of the twelve that had been sent were left. Whether you noticed it or not, Konoha has a shortage of chūnin and jōnin. Ever since Hatake Sakumo's mission went sour we have been losing our top shinobi. It is a more desperate situation than I thought here, and the timely arrival of the Black _Oni_ is keeping Iwa focused on the Land of Stone and nowhere else,"

Minato sighed, and looked over to Aragorn, who was patiently waiting for the two shinobi to finish their conversation.

"How long have we been gone?" the sunny jōnin asked tiredly.

"Your team has been away for two months at most," Orochimaru answered. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to take a brief nap before I map out my return plan,"

Before Minato could protest, the image in the palantír faded away, and returned to the stubborn image of a pair of hands burning. Aragorn picked up the stone and wrapped it in the brown cloth.

"This should have been in the Tower of Ecthelion," he commented quietly. Minato nodded numbly, still trying to digest the information. The jōnin followed Aragorn out the door, and carefully closed the heavy wooden barrier behind him. As they walked across the courtyard to reach the Tower, he could hear heavy breathing and a number of pounding feet behind him.

"Sensei!" cried Hoshi as Minato stopped. His student halted in front of him, soon followed by Obito and Kakashi.

"Orcs," he gasped out, looking rather distressed. "Orcs in the Land of Stone,"

The Yellow Flash nodded wearily. "I know. Orochimaru told me,"

Kakashi's dark eyes widened in shock. "You were able to contact him?" he asked, astonished.

"He was in Mordor, but was forced to flee to your home world," answered Aragorn quietly. "He found Frodo and Sam, and they are safely with him,"

"No, No, No, No, NO!" moaned Hoshi, rocking back and forth with his head in his hands. "This is wrong. This is wrong. Everything is messed up! We are doomed, doomed, doomed, doomed, DOOMED!"

Obito wrapped his panicky brother up into a hug. "It's okay Hoshi," he said soothingly. "Things aren't doomed,"

"Orochimaru invited the orcs into the Land of Stone anyway," added Minato, allowing distaste to color his voice. "They are under his command and they seem to be helping,"

"Since when could orcs be helpful?" howled Hoshi.

"Well," said Obito, letting go of his foster brother. "Would you be able to fight a foreign country when a mysterious force is literally eating your army?"

The wavy-haired boy sighed, and seemed to calm down. His grey eyes landed on the wrapped palantír, and a wistful expression appeared on his face.

"So you are returning the Seeing Stone to the White Tower," Hoshi murmured quietly. "It's an awfully long climb up all those stairs,"

Aragorn seemed to guess what the lanky boy was asking for. "Would you prefer to return the palantír?" he asked.

"Alone, if you don't mind," Hoshi said, perking up. The ranger looked at the bundle, then back to the hopeful boy.

"Do not attempt to use it," he warned, handing the wrapped sphere to the faintly glowing boy.

"I don't think I could make it work even if I tried," murmured the elf-like child while cradling the palantír in his arms.

"You are underestimating the power of your bloodline," Aragorn chided, an odd look in his grey eyes.

Hoshi flushed, his pointed ears turning dark in the low light. The pale boy bowed slightly to everyone, wishing them goodnight before running off. The tall ranger watched him until his lanky form disappeared into the Tower, much to Minato's interest. He did not miss his two students exchanging looks.

"Did I just hear an admission of sorts?" asked the yellow-haired jōnin with a sly grin. Kakashi's eyes widened and Obito began to shake his head frantically.

_*"Sensei, don't give him any hints!"* _the Uchiha hissed.

Aragorn turned back to the shinobi with a blank look on his face. "Hoshi is not my son," he responded flatly.

"_Just keep telling yourself that,"_ Minato thought as the four walked back to the Istari's house in the dark.


	27. Chapter 27

**A.N****:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity, Guest, and mistyfoxmaid for reviewing! Also thank you Alathwen for favoriting my stories.**

**Happy All Hallows Eve (or Halloween), one of my most favorite holidays in the year. This chapter is complete FILLER with a vague Halloween theme, because I could not resist sneaking in ghost stories. Tell me if this is lame (mostly because the holiday I am celebrating is basically over), and that I should do better with my choice in horror stories. They are not original. Sorry about that.**

**Thank you all for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Legolas woke up to the sound of someone screaming. The cries were so faint that for a second, he thought that he had imagined them. But seeing that he was sitting upright with all his muscles tensed in his nest of blankets, the elf concluded that the screams were real. The room was dim, and his eyes were still bleary with sleep. Peeking out the window, it seemed that it was still an hour or so away from dawn. Legolas looked around the room, his dreams forgotten (well not entirely. There was something about him getting married and Gimli in a white dress) in the wake of the screams. Gimli was fast asleep, his hands folded over his chest with snores that rivaled the Rohirrim's horns. Aragorn, however, appeared to be awake. The man was lying face-down on the only bed in the room, holding his pillow over his ears.<p>

"Estel?" Legolas whispered. The ranger responded with a muffled groan, confirming that he was awake.

"Did you here that scream?" Legolas continued in a whisper, determined to wake his friend up. Aragorn made another irritated noise and pushed the pillow hard against his ears, determined to block out the dwarf's snoring and the elf's talking. Feeling a bit slighted, the archer stood up and walked over to the tall Dúnedain, and knelt down by his friend's head.

"Now Estel, aren't you the least bit curious?" he said. _"Curious might not have been the right word,"_ he thought. _"More like concerned," _

"_Go kiss an orc" _Aragorn snarled with surprising fire for a supposedly sleepy man. Legolas was taken aback, and it took him a second to compose himself.

"_Well that is a fine thing to say to a friend in the morning,"_ he responded, miffed. _"What would Arwen say?"_

"_Arwen would be kind enough to allow me to sleep,"_ Aragorn snapped back, his response muffled by both pillow and mattress. Legolas stood up, a frown on his face.

"_Well, if someone is hurt, I will let the others know that you decided not to help them,"_ the elf said. As he turned around to walk out of the room, he could hear the sound of the ranger shifting and the faint creaking of the bed as the man stood up and quietly walked over to him.

"You can be rather manipulative at times," Aragorn growled, an annoyed look on his face. They walked out into the hallway, and Legolas was keeping alert, trying to pinpoint where the scream had come from. Suddenly, there was a loud, yet muffled yell of terror coming from a room down the hallway. Without thinking, the blonde archer tore down the hallway and flung open the door. The six shinobi children were crowded atop the only bed the room; huddling together as far away from the floor as possible. Hoshi was clinging to the ceiling on his hands and feet, crawling slowly to them. None of them seemed to notice Legolas and Aragorn standing at the door except for Hoshi, who put a finger to his lips. Not knowing what else to do, Legolas walked in, pulled the reluctant ranger in alongside him, and closed the door.

_*"Then she attacked,"* _Hoshi hissed, launching off the ceiling towards the shinobi at a surprising speed. Only Kakashi leapt up to meet the lanky boy as the others scattered. But after a fierce tussle and a couple split lips, Kakashi left his unconscious teammate and ran into a corner with his comrades. Aragorn looked ready to walk over to Hoshi, but Legolas held out his arm and shook his head.

"_Unfortunately, running from her did not save you,"*_ the dark-haired boy had disappeared from his spot on the floor. The elf found himself looking wildly around for the missing child.

_*"Because you forgot to look up,"*_

The six children suddenly froze, a stricken look on each of their faces as a long needle appeared in their necks. Then they collapsed to the ground. Before the archer could ask Hoshi where he had put his senses, a series of lanterns lit up and the shinobi sat up, pulling the needles out of their necks.

_*"Dude, that was overkill,"*_ said Kuro without preamble. *_"You really did not need to stick us with needles,"*_

Hoshi rubbed his face, shrugging at his cousin. "You are not dead, and you look like you enjoyed yourself," he said. "Anyways, your screaming woke a couple people,"

"I believe it only awakened Legolas," said Aragorn with a hint of amusement. "Gimli's snoring is what disrupted my sleep,"

Hoshi laughed. "He snores louder than a mûmakil!"

"What were you doing?" asked Legolas, curious.

"Telling spooky stories with _genjutsus_," answered Obito. "In fact it is my turn. Would you like to join us?"

The elf prince turned to Aragorn, who shrugged. "I do not see why not," he said. The two members of the Fellowship walked over and sat down between Hoshi and Rin. They sat in a circle around a flickering lantern.

"_A man from the city came to the countryside to buy a property. There was an old house on the property, and nobody wanted to take a second look at the land after seeing the house."_

Much to Legolas' infinite surprise, a particularly strange and rather unsettling wooden house appeared before his eyes, nestled among trees boasting their fall colors. As they walked into the house, Obito continued to narrate.

"_But the man wanted to check the house out, in spite of hearing that it was haunted. The seller bought him into the house. The inside was dark and covered with dust and cobwebs._

'_Spooky!' said the man enthusiastically. He ran to the center of the hall and cried: 'Come to me, foul spirits!' Immediately, the whole house rang with a sinister, unearthly chuckle. Then an unearthly voice boomed: 'I'm coming down now!' "_

The elf jumped in surprise, as did the others around him. In the corner of his eye he could see a nervous looking man, who was sweating in fear.

" '_Awesome!' said the city man. 'How did you do that?' But the seller shook his head, and squeaked: 'That wasn't me,' _

'_I'm coming down now!' the voice boomed again,"_

The elf's view was shifted to the end of the hall, and they stood in silence, waiting for something. Then a bright light exploded into being at the end of the hall and quickly resolved into a sinister green head with flaming eyes, writhing hair, and fangs instead of teeth. The head opened its mouth and screamed; a terrible, high-pitched sound that scraped across their nerves. A yell of shock tore from the elf's throat, and he stood up and began to run away from the head, which was rolling toward them. Still, Obito continued to tell the tale.

"_The man was running alongside the seller, who had already fled the house. 'I do not think that I want to buy this property anymore,' said the man. _

'_Why not?' asked a hauntingly familiar voice. The city man and the seller looked over and saw the green head with flaming red eyes keeping pace with them as they raced away from the house. The man let out a scream that would shame an uwan and ran away so fast there was no hope of catching up with him,"_

Legolas had stopped running and was staying still, scared out of his mind. "Must have been the asking price," the floating head said conversationally. Then the head abruptly disappeared, and the blonde archer found himself staring at a wall. He turned around sheepishly, embarrassed that he was even scared. Obito and Aragorn were the only ones that remained seated, and the ranger was chuckling.

"What an interesting form of entertainment," said the tall man as the children and elf drifted back to their seats. "Is this normal?"

"Only on creepy nights or during the harvest festival," answered Rin. "Our world if filled with strange spirits and demons, so we have many creepy stories to tell. The harvest festival in the fall usually coincides with the day the dead return to haunt the earth for the night,"

Aragorn nodded. "I would like to tell a story then," he said. Hoshi sat straight up, an attentive look on his face. The room was quiet, and the flickering lantern threw a half of the ranger's hawkish face in shadow.

"A poor, young merchant decided to stay in an inn for a week, and as he settled in, he discovered that there was a hole in the wall. He took a look through the hole and discovered that the room next to his was empty. The merchant put a rag in the hole and quickly forgot about it. A few days later, he returned to the inn, followed by a courtesan. When he arrived at his room, he discovered that the courtesan was in the room next to his. Not willing to pass the opportunity by, the young merchant watched the woman undress through the hole in the wall, and was disappointed when she blew out the candles,"

Legolas wrinkled his nose in disgust. What was Estel thinking, telling such a crude tale?

"In the middle of the night, the merchant was awakened by the sound of groaning in the other room. Curious, he looked through the hole in the wall, and was horrified by what he saw. In the moonlight, he could see a tall man standing over the woman. He was stabbing her over and over with a long, thin knife. The courtesan was groaning in pain as she lay in a pool of her own blood. The young merchant was frozen in shock, and his stomach began to churn. After one last blow, the courtesan released a final groan, and died. The murderer stole some of her jewels, and went to the door. As the killer turned around, the merchant caught his face; a thin face, dark beard, and a long scar across his face. It was a face anyone could recognize,"

The elf could feel his blood pounding, and he inched closer to his friend, eager hear more.

"The next morning the town watch walked over to the merchant and interrogated him about the murder. The merchant was too embarrassed to admit that he had been spying on the woman to point out their criminal, so he told them nothing of value. He felt horrible, covering up the murder, but was too ashamed to come forward and say anything. Instead, the young merchant blocked out the horrible event, and patched up the hole in the wall. Eventually, he forgot about the murders, until his last night at the inn. Sitting in the common room, he overheard a group of men talking.

"Did you hear about the killing of that little tart?"

"Yeah I did," growled a reply. "She had it coming, though,"

"Nobody deserves such a death," rebuked another voice. "I am worried more about the killer,"

"Aye," agreed the first voice. "That bastard is still out there, but hopefully far away from here,"

Feeling sick, the young merchant returned to his room, and went to sleep. At midnight, he was awakened by the sound of someone groaning. Much to his confusion, it seemed to be coming from the other room, which had been locked off. He desperately tried to convince himself that it was not coming from that room, but it was futile. Drunk with curiosity, the young merchant crawled over to the covered hole. With trembling fingers, he removed the covering from the hole, and looked through the hole. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark, but even after a while, he could not see anything. The groaning had stopped, leaving behind an eerie silence. After a few agonizing moments, the young merchant moved back. That was when he saw something. Staring back at him, through the small hole, was a wide-open bloodshot eye. The merchant recoiled in horror, the unblinking eye still fixed on the frozen, shivering man. Then, the cold silence was broken by a woman's raspy voice, hissing:

"I know you saw!"

Legolas swallowed thickly, and was soon followed by a chorus of gulps. Rin and Kuro appeared to be shaken, while Susano'o was visibly paler.

"That sounded like it was based off experience," Kakashi croaked.

Aragorn nodded. "Actually, it was a man I ended up sharing a room with at the Prancing Pony who went through this. A trader from Dale, who, with my assistance, brought the murderer to justice,"

"Did you exaggerate the truth in any way?" asked Anko, a suspicious look on her face.

"No," answered the ranger. "Would that not lessen the impact?"

The girl nodded, and then turned over to Hoshi, who looked slightly ill. "Hey, tell us another real-life tale of yours!"

The lanky boy looked reluctant, but then nodded. "If no one minds," he murmured.

There were nods and noises of encouragement shared around the circle. With a sigh, Hoshi began.

"My friend Poldo and I often visited a baker woman on the Northern end of the Third circle. She was very kind to us, and often took street children and orphans under her wing, since she was unmarried. I remember her making the best meat pies this side of Gondor, which had a secret ingredient of sorts in them. She would never tell me, not matter how much I begged,"

Hoshi had a far-off look in his grey-eyes, and he kept twiddling his thumbs. Then a confused look crossed his face.

"What I never really understood was how a woman of Rohirric descent in her mid-sixties looked as if she was thirty-five. In spite of her appealing looks, men stood clear of her, and the girls kept a wide berth from her store. I distinctly remember biting someone who called her a witch,"

Obito snickered, and Aragorn favored the lanky boy with a disapproving look. But Hoshi did not bother with them, and continued to tell the story.

"I believed Poldo smelled a rat when I dragged my older sister over to meet Auntie Frith, as we called her. She was overly interested in my sister, and kept asking her age. When Auntie asked her to come with her into the cellar, my sister ran all the way back home screaming bloody murder. Of course, I did not see anything wrong, but Poldo insisted that we should find out what was in the cellar. In order to get into the cellar, we figured that we should ask to stay over for the night. I…I wasn't happy with that idea. I had just turned seven, and I still could not sleep away from my parents,"

Hoshi chuckled and shook his head, scolding himself.

"Auntie Frith was delighted to have us over, but I couldn't sleep one wink. I kept hearing noises in the darkness. I was restless, but scared to move from my bed. I could hear the sound of knives being sharpened, but I could also hear muffled screams and groans. I was reluctant to repeat the experience, but Poldo refused to simply let things lie. It seemed that every day we hung around Auntie Frith's bakery, but we seemed no closer to finding out what had scared mu sister so. However, Auntie…took an…interest…in me,"

Hoshi had curled up into a ball, and a hollow look appeared on his face.

"She kept wanting to play games with me, but I always refused and clung to Poldo. Poldo was quite big for a seven year old, and rather strong. He kept Auntie Frith away from me. For a while she stopped, and I thought that I was safe. Then she invited Poldo, my sister and I to stay overnight. My sister was no longer suspicious of her; so I did not refuse, and we came over. Soup was for dinner, but she only put out three bowls. When I asked why she was not eating with us, she gave me the most blood curdling smile I had ever seen. I looked down into the soup, and saw fingers and a damaged brown eye floating in the broth. Then I became unconscious. I woke up tied upright to a table between my sister and Poldo, who were still unconscious. The three of us were missing all but our smallclothes. There were other children around the cellar, some were tied like us, and others speared on hooks, all dead. Barrels of blood were everywhere, and so were chopped body parts. I could see the outline of Auntie Frith, stark naked, in a tub filled with blood, chanting in the Black Speech. I was scared out of my wits; I thought my friend and sister were dead, and that I was sure to follow them. I could not escape, and my death was sure to be horrible. So I began to scream in Sindarin,"

Hoshi fell silent, and was shaking slightly. Obito slid over and hugged his foster brother.

"Who rescued you?" he asked. "Your dad?"

The lanky boy laughed. "No! _Naneth_ somehow figured out that my sister and I were in danger, and rushed down, alone, to take on Auntie Frith. She was so angry that she killed her,"

Legolas was trying to keep himself from gaping at Hoshi. _"If Hoshi is who I think he is, then I better not accidently harm so much a hair on her children's heads when Arwen is around,"_ he thought, swallowing thickly.

"What about your father?" asked Aragorn, with a strange and detached look on his face.

"Oh, _Adar_ was furious that I was put in harm's way and that he couldn't punish the wicked witch himself," said the dark-haired child. "I was just glad that Poldo and my sister were unconscious and did not witness what happened. I am glad that were escaped unscathed,"

"So what was Auntie Frith's deal?" asked Kuro, combing his hair.

Hoshi sighed. "The blood of young children, especially girls, in combination with a ritual and spell, can create a sort of false youth. I always wondered what happened to her fosterlings, who kept disappearing. But it only answered one of my questions,"

The thin child took in a shuddering breath, and pushed onward.

"The secret ingredient of her pies was people,"

Legolas felt incredibly ill. Rin covered her mouth in shock and whimpered, as did Kuro. Kakashi and Susano'o were chalky white. Anko and Obito seemed content to gape in horror. Aragorn, surprisingly gathered Hoshi up into an embrace. The boy quickly snuggled up to the ranger, who seemed a little awkward, considering Hoshi's comfort with the situation. The sun had finally risen, and a faint amount of grey light leaked into the room. Someone knocked on the door, then opened it without waiting for an answer.

"Hello!" chirped Minato, cheery as always. "I got us some breakfast,"

"What is it?" asked Legolas gingerly.

"Meat Pies!" he cried, delighted.

There was the scrape of a wooden bucket across the stone floor quickly followed by the sound of retching. Hoshi simply broke down and began screaming into Aragorn's shoulder. The poor shinobi stood in the threshold, utterly confused.

"Please give the meat pies to someone else," Legolas said with an apologetic smile. "None of us are in the mood to eat them,"

"Oh, alright then," Minato said; utterly perplexed, yet not looking for an explanation. "I will find something else. Breakfast should start soon, so come down when you feel like it,"

The archer nodded, and the shinobi left. Aragorn had somehow calmed Hoshi down, and was now stroking the pale boy's head.

"He has really soft hair," commented Anko. Her comrades shot looks at her. "What, he really does!" she defended.

The Dúnedain made a humming noise and gently pried Hoshi off him. _"Come, let us find something to eat,"_ he said, looking the vaguely distressed boy in the eyes.

With a small nod and a weak smile, the pale boy followed the ranger out of the room. After a moment of busy silence, Kuro piped up.

"So, is Strider Hoshi's dad?"

"We aren't saying," chorused Kakashi, Rin and Obito.

The long-haired boy scowled and flopped onto his belly. "Party Popper," he grumbled.

Legolas laughed. In spite of the darkness, it seemed that things were looking up.


	28. Chapter 28

**AN:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you BisounoursEnGuimauve for following. Another thank you goes to KingBilbo for favoriting.**

**Sorry this took so long, but I did warn that I am an infrequent updater. **

**Thank You all for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>The morning seemed cold and grey to Eowyn. She alone in the quiet room, for Faramir had been moved out of the room yesterday evening, and Merry and Pippin had promptly left the Houses of Healing after breakfast. The Shieldmaiden walked over to the window and was disappointed by the view. She stared out at the street below her, not quite taking in the scene before her eyes.<p>

_"So I am denied the view of a land I should go fight in,"_ she thought miserably. _"Just as I am denied the privilege to fight in that land,"_

The loud creak of the door drew Eowyn out of her thoughts. Unhurried, the Rohir turned around to see Lothíriel, the healer, standing in the doorway.

"Hello," greeted the dark woman. "I was wondering if you would fancy a stroll in the gardens,"

Eowyn considered to offer for a second, and then nodded. Lothíriel's face lit up with a large smile. The healer practically skipped over, grabbed her uninjured hand, and dragged her out the door. Eowyn already found this level of enthusiasm to be draining, but her curiosity over Gondorian flowers kept her moving. Eventually Lothíriel slowed down as they entered the courtyard. Gliding up a short set of stairs in almost elven grace, the healer pushed open a plain door and walked through it. The Shieldmaiden attempted to follow her just as gracefully, but her foot got caught on the hem of her borrowed dress and she stumbled. Her face grew hot, and she glared at a few Riders who dared laughed at her. Eowyn untangled herself as best as she could with one arm, and quickly entered the gardens. Lothíriel was standing just outside the door; it seemed that she had just realized that her companion was no longer with her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, a concerned look in her light green eyes.

_"What do you mean by alright?"_ the blonde thought bitterly while nodding affirmatively. The healer did not look entirely satisfied by the answer, but she did not press.

"It's a good thing you arrived in spring, so we still have flowers around," Lothíriel said cheerfully. "Do you like flowers?"

"They interest me," Eowyn answered shortly, but as warmly as she could.

The olive-skinned woman nodded. "I prefer the plant-creatures of the sea myself. They are quite pretty to look at, and edible too!"

"The sea?" the Rohir asked, confused. "What is this sea?"

Lothíriel came to a standstill, a stunned look on her face. She then shook her head fiercely, and led them down path deeper into the gardens.

"Of course you have never seen the sea," the healer said with a laugh. "This must be the farthest away from home that you have gone,"

Eowyn nodded, numbly realizing that, before _this_, she had never been outside of Rohan's boarders.

"Alright," continued Lothíriel as she knelt down to admire a lily. "Imagine the largest lake you have ever seen. Now stretch it so it covers the entire horizon, and extend it all the way to the far west; its depths could cover even the tallest mountain. That is the sea,"

The Rohir did not even attempt to stop her jaw from dropping. "Does such a thing exist?" she asked softly, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Does what exist?"

The two women looked over to see Anko standing by a trellis next to Rin, who was rubbing a cat's belly.

"The sea," answered the healer with a laugh. The girl's face became incredulous.

"Of course it exists!" she cried. "Have you not seen pictures of it?"

"Anko," interjected Rin gently. "They don't have cameras. Their painters don't seem to like depicting pictures of the landscape, so it is highly unlikely that Eowyn would have seen a picture of the ocean,"

The brown-eyed girl was gaping at the Rohir in shock. "Wow. That...It just seems impossible to me that you have not seen the sea. Jeez, I live smack in the middle of a forest, yet I know a lot about the ocean,"

"Well, one can always learn," said Lothíriel gently. Then the healer shook her head slightly and adopted a business-like stance. "How did you two get in here? This is a private garden!"

"We followed the adorable fleabag-I mean, cat in," answered Anko, scooping the grey cat off the ground and holding it up to the two women. "We wanted to see Eowyn anyway,"

A stiff smile crossed Eowyn's face; it felt fake even though it was genuine.

"I wanted to sign _Yuki-hime's_ cast," continued the energetic shinobi, putting the cat down and gesturing with a strange writing implement. "And so does Rin,"

A flicker of surprise crossed Lothíriel's face. "Sign it? Whatever for?"

"It's a way we wish for the injured to get better and it's a show of support," explained Rin. "Do you mind?"

Instead of saying yes, Eowyn croaked:

"Are you nobility?"

The two girls blinked, then then looked at each other in confusion. "How many girls are literate in your country?" asked Anko, her eyes narrowed suspiciously, twirling the writing tool between her fingers.

"Rohirric does not have an alphabet," answered the Shieldmaiden.

"And in Gondor, only nobility needs to bother learning how to read," added Lothíriel hastily, a flush of excitement on her cheeks. "However, not all nobles teach their daughters how to read,"

Both foreigners were quiet for a second, and then Rin spoke.

"This is a disgrace," she said plainly. "I'll take the issue up with Hoshi. However, Eowyn, I recommend that you find a good linguist who knows Rohirric and create an alphabet for your language,"

"Speaking of Hoshi," said Anko, "Can you get him over here? I want to write a message for _Yuki-hime_, and I doubt she can read _Hiragana_ or _Katakana_,"

"Just write your name first, if that is alright," the brunette said, slightly irritated, but deferred hopefully to Eowyn. She gave them a small nod, curious as to what _Hiragana_ and _Katakana_ were. Will great glee, the brunette's companion removed a cap from the tool, gently took her cast and across the top of the cast on her hand wrote her name. To Eowyn, it merely looked like this: みたらしアンコ.

_"Tada!" _exclaimed Anko with great relish. "That is my name in _Katakana_. I'll get Hoshi to write a message later. Rin, you can sign now."

"She just left to find Hoshi," said Lothíriel as she stroked the grey cat by the white roses, clinging to the trellis.

"Ah, good," murmured Anko. "He has nice handwriting. It makes up of for his grammatical errors,"

"He is no commoner then," remarked Eowyn. "Being able to read, write and speak, not only in the Common speech, but in elven-tongue as well. But he seems a bit..." she clawed for the proper word, trying and failing to describe just _what_ about the boy was so…

"Off?" supplied Anko seriously. "Yeah, I fancy that he was dropped on his head as a baby. Half the time in Konoha he seemed to be lost in his own little world, and got spooked by the smallest things. Gosh, earlier today simply retelling an experience of his made him lose his marbles for a while,"

Lothíriel stopped stroking the cat and stood up. "He may simply have elven blood," she proposed gently.

The Shieldmaiden frowned. "Forgive me, but I do not quite understand your reasoning," she said, readjusting her sling.

"Hoshi has pointed ears, and a faint aura about him that I was able to see when he was healing. Hoshi, in spite of being taller, seems younger that his peers," the healer said, counting out a second point on her fingers. "Elves do sometimes seem to live on a different plane of existence, which is where the absent-mindedness comes in. As for his moments of delusion, I would blame it on the time-travel he accidently went through and possibly his use of shinobi magic,"

Anko blinked. "You know, that actually makes sense. Have you considered becoming a scientist?"

Eowyn sighed, and walked away from the trellises and their white roses, leaning against white walls of white stone. The chatter of the two girls faded as she walked further into the garden. Fiery red lilies mingled with soft, yellow primroses and simple daisies. Shrubs with fragrant white flowers capped off the end of some paths, accompanied by a row of short shrubs with bright purple flowers. But the narrow pebble paths crowded between the two walls devoured all of the Rohir woman's attention. Eowyn wanted a view, a wide horizon. She felt trapped. Finally, the path led her out, under a stone arch smothered in honeysuckle, into a courtyard. Small trees were planted along the stone walls and provided shade for the benches beneath them. Bluebells, periwinkles and cornflowers grew about the stone space in squares of short, green grass. But Eowyn had swiftly forgotten about them when she found what she was waiting for. The blonde rushed to the wall and looked out. The panorama laid out before her hungry eyes was stunning. The city lay bustling below her, and she could see the giant carcasses of the mûmakil rotting on the Pelennor, the silver ribbon of the Anduin, and, still further off, the mountains surrounding Mordor. But it was all through a rather small window.

"Do you enjoy the view, my lady?"

Eowyn couldn't stifle her surprised yelp, and whirled around to see Faramir sitting in one of the benches, holding a furled scroll in his hand. The former Steward's son was dressed in simple, yet fine robes, and his dark golden hair held a reddish gleam in its waves. The small smile on his face seemed to warm his sad, grey eyes. If Eowyn turned her head just so, she could easily see the bandages that covered his shoulder and chest. Catching herself in the girlish action, the Shieldmaiden tossed her head up and stiffened.

"Of what I can see, I do take pleasure in," she answered stiffly. "But wherever I go, I am not permitted to see all that I can possibly take in,"

"Perhaps you are simply not looking in the right places, my lady," returned the Gondorian gently. "Pardon me for being so bold, but I can bring you to a place that has what you may be looking for,"

A smile tugged on her lips and forced itself to appear on her stony face.

"Your offer is most welcome, my Lord," she uttered back with a hint of shyness in her cold monotone. Faramir stood up, waited for Eowyn to walk next to him, and then led her out of the courtyard of blue flowers and benches.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Eldarion sat on a set of steps in a secluded courtyard, staring into a fountain. He idly twirled a _senbon_ between his thin fingers. The thin boy still felt anxious and a bit ashamed about his new breakdown that morning. The reasonable part of him had abruptly disappeared and reappeared as he recounted his tale. He had finally managed to control himself, but the smell of meat still made him gag like a cat with a hairball.

"_Maybe there is something wrong with me,"_ Eldarion thought. _"But I never had these problems before I ended up in Konoha,"_

A gentle breeze tugged at his hair, which had grown a little past his shoulders. The elf-like boy pocketed the senbon, and curled up into a ball. Pair of sparrows and a blue bird had flown into the top tier of the fountain and were bathing. Droplets of water flew into the air as the small feathered bodies puffed up and wings splashed in the small basin. The chatter of the three birds added a soothing background noise to the stillness about him. Eldarion hummed, feeling peaceful. He was acutely aware of the splint on his arm, which was still throbbing. He drummed his other fingers against the stiff bandages, remembering that he only had one of his red armguards left; the one with his _guan dao_. Eldarion blinked, realizing that his left hand was rubbing his throat, looking for his necklace.

"_Gone," _he thought miserably_. "Just like the stupid fan it 'paid' for; So much for fair prices,"_

With a chorus of chirps and splashes the small birds took off. His right hand clenched into a fist and he stood up.

"_It was never said that I couldn't get it back,"_ he thought. Just then Rin appeared in the courtyard.

"Found you!" she breathed in triumph, looking like she had just run for miles. "We need your writing skills,"

Eldarion blinked, confused. "Why?"

"Rin?"

The two children looked through a short tunnel to see a bemused Eowyn standing next to Faramir. The adopted Uchiha suddenly understood.

"Oh, since you are here," he said to Rin. "Is there a particular message you would like for me to write?"

The brunette nodded, and then answered Eowyn. "Yes, I just found Hoshi. You don't mind if he writes something on my behalf, right?"

The White Lady, apparently understanding what they were talking about, shook her head and walked up to him. Faramir watched on with fascination.

"Do you have anything to write with?" Eldarion asked Rin. His teammate nodded, then gave him a bright pink permanent marker. The lanky boy stared at it for a second, then back up at the medic. Rin rolled her eyes.

"Write 'Get better soon' with an exclamation point" she said. "I'll sign my name under it,"

Eldarion nodded absentmindedly as he wrote out the message across the top of the cast. When he finished, the Gondorian held out the marker and its pink cap to Rin, who took it and scribbled her name underneath the message.

"Aren't you going to sign?" asked the petite medic.

Eldarion raised an eyebrow. "Not in that color marker," he said with a slight scoff. "Where is Minato-sensei?"

"He's down by the Front Gate," Rin answered with a bemused look on her face.

The adopted Uchiha flashed her an enormous smile, hoping to distract the medic from further questioning.

"Thank you very much, Rin!" he said, jogging past her then jumping between a set of columns that marked the edge of the courtyard, and a very steep drop. Eldarion easily absorbed the shock of the fall, and then ran through the streets until he reached the edge of the sixth level. Without attempting to slow down, he concentrated chakra on his feet, and with strong push from his long legs, the young Gondorian leapt up and over a wall and plummeted onto the roofs below. The rush he got from his reckless actions was rather addictive, and he appreciated his home city in a different way. Eldarion hit the tiled roof in a run and skidded. In a futile attempt to keep upright, the lanky boy pitched forward, and tumbled head-over-heels. Using all the strength he had, the genin held himself upright as his feet hit the tiles again. Vertical once more, Eldarion jumped to another roof. The trip down was not eventful until he landed on a rotten roof in the second circle and fell through in a shower of wooden splinters and ceramic tiles. Eldarion panicked for a second, but managed to land properly on the stable attic floor. He took a minute to slow his racing heart and overcome his shock, breathing slowly and deeply, counting to ten in Westron, Sindarin, and Quenya. After counting in Quenya finally worked to calm him down, the adopted Uchiha left the building and jumped on to another roof. He ended up repeating the experience at least three times in the first circle, convincing him to get several of the buildings somehow repaired and walk to the front gate. Eldarion stood beside the wide open gate, with the damaged doors still fastened on their hinges. There was the bustle of horses and carts, and the hum of chatter. He decided to walk out of the gate, looking for a head of spikey, yellow hair.

"Hey Hoshi," greeted Obito, just outside the gate, as his brother walked past him. Eldarion jumped, surprised.

"Hello Obito, have you seen Minato-sensei?" he returned, rubbing his right ear. The blue-clad Uchiha had his goggles pulled over his eyes, and was covered with grass stains.

"Sure!" he answered. "Do you want me to bring you over to where they are?"

"They?" Eldarion asked, confused.

"Yeah, an army from Loss-are-Nat has just arrived," replied Obito, leading him off to the southwest side of city. "Does the name Forlong ring any bells?"

"Forlong the Fat?" returned the taller boy, a bit bewildered.

His foster brother's jaw dropped. "You actually call him that to his face?" he asked, incredulous.

Eldarion shrugged his thin shoulders. "He was dead by the time I was born," he explained. "I don't think that people call him that to his face, but that is how I know him,"

"You and everyone else," muttered Obito as removed his goggles and put them on his head. They picked their way through the bits of debris and parts of corpses, walking in the shadow of the city's wall. A little ways west, just beyond the edge of the White City's wall, Eldarion could see a stock of sunshine-yellow hair among a sea of darker heads. Slightly impatient, the grey-eyed boy lengthened his stride and picked up his pace. His foster brother was forced up to a trot through the longer yellow-green grass.

"What do you need to talk to Minato-sensei for?" asked Obito, attempting to rub out a grass stain on his elbow.

"I need to find out where Yuu's team went. I want my necklace back," Eldarion said, surprised by how distant his voice sounded.

"Oh, Minato-sensei rescued your necklace," replied the Uchiha airily.

The tall genin stopped walking, stunned. "He did?" he asked, shocked. "Why?

"Believe it or not, you owned a pretty important piece of jewelry," Obito said with a shrug. He suddenly tensed. "Wait, you do know that it was valuable, right? Why else would Emi and company want it?"

The pointy-eared boy scowled, and recalled the event in which he lost his necklace.

_Sho was being held back by a bored-looking Kin, while Emi looked just as indignant as her male teammate, who was bleeding profusely from his nose. Eldarion was in a defensive position, with a row of senbon in his hand, which had a smear of blood on its back. Kakashi was standing in between the two of them._

*"Now let's all calm down. Hoshi, is it so unreasonable that you give up an heirloom for the one that you lost?"* _said the Hatake calmly. Eldarion's grey eyes flickered with uncertainty, and his body relaxed a bit. Obito was standing near the Suna nin, looking rather disinterested. _

*"If you don't hand it over, we'll bomb the sh!t out of this street,"* _threatened Emi casually. After a moment of consideration, the tall genin handed over the necklace. The short-haired kunoichi darted over and snatched it, running back to her teammates, who briefly huddled up, whispers flying about before they broke apart and disappeared down the street._

Ending his recall, Eldarion fixed Obito with a questioning look. "Other than personal importance, I cannot see why Minato-sensei would go out of his way to get my necklace back to me,"

"You claim that your hearing is good, but you didn't seem to hear why Yuu's team wanted your necklace. That gem in its center is the exact same kind as Shodai Hokage's necklace," explained his brother.

The pale boy's eyes widened. He had heard stories about the infamous necklace in Tsunade's possession.

"Of course, only Emi and Kin seemed to realize it, but you know what kind of power that sort of thing has, right?" said the round-faced Uchiha as they started walking again.

"A useless one?" Eldarion shot back. "The Shodai's necklace responds to his chakra and his chakra only. The necklace I have-"

"Is filled with dormant healing chakra!" interrupted Obito. "The sort that if tapped one can get bifurcated, decapitated, or some other form of mortal wound and it could be shrugged off like a scratch!"

The Gondorian would have liked to say that he stopped in his tracks and was shocked by the power that he had been unwittingly carrying around. But that would be lying, and he had been telling enough falsehoods to last him until adulthood.

"That is interesting," remarked Eldarion, surprised. "But not wholly unexpected. It is a type of elfstone, and traditionally in elven crafts the maker puts an incredibly small amount of their will into their work. It is not exactly their _fae_, but it is close to chakra. But such things are tied to this world, and cannot last long without it. In short, even if you found a way to rob that gem of its "chakra", it would be utterly useless to you,"

Obito huffed. "That's stupid," he grumbled.

"Welcome to the complicated subject that is the Eldar, _gwador nin_,"

They walked in a restless silence for a time. Obito kept looking over his shoulder, and Eldarion kept hearing _footsteps._

"Hey Hoshi, don't you feel that ACK!"

The world flew upwards all of a sudden, and the next thing he knew was that he was stuck neck-deep in the earth, with Minato-sensei, Aragorn, Imrahil and the army of Lossarnach staring at them.

"KAKASHI!" screamed Obito at the top of his lungs, his face red with embarrassment and anger. Eldarion could feel his own face burning up. Wiggling around in the soft dirt, he turned to see the calm Hatake standing over them with his arms folded across his chest.

"A good shinobi never lets his guard down," chastised the silver-haired chūnin. Obito proceeded to curse at their teammate; meanwhile the thin genin pushed his hands through the soil, bringing them together in a hand seal. Eldarion lifted his chin and stuck his tongue out at Kakashi.

"_Shiranui"_

It actually took the chūnin longer than expected to dispel the fire-based genjustu. Maybe it was using his tongue as a pointer instead of his finger. A little less than a minute after the illusion was cast, Kakashi broke out of it with a cry of pain. He looked flustered and was gasping for air. Eldarion felt incredibly guilty; all he wanted to do was scare his teammate and get out of the dirt.

"Sorry Kakashi," he apologized, doing his best to appear as contrite as he felt. The Hatake glared at him.

"That is a lethal technique," he rasped, sounding like he had inhaled a bucket of smoke. "There was no need to react so strongly to a simple demonstration,"

"How were we supposed to know that?!" cried Obito. "You could've let us know!"

Kakashi was silent; he clearly hadn't thought about that.

"Anyway, can you let us out?" asked Eldarion, wriggling around in the dry soil.

The chūnin suddenly looked sheepish. "Ah, about that,"

Obito rolled his eyes. "For crying out loud," he grumbled under his breath before yelling:

"Does anybody have a fraking shovel?!"

Eldarion winced. "Obito, you shouldn't curse in front of nobles," he murmured to his irate brother.

"Maybe you like looking like a vegetable, but I don't," snapped the Uchiha. Eldarion sighed. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Minato-sensei walking over to them, looking rather embarrassed.

"Sorry about that Obito, Hoshi," he said, grabbing them by the scruffs of their necks and yanking them out of the ground. Eldarion immediately grasped his waistband, even though he had secured his pants with a piece of elvish rope. He felt his loose leather shoes get pulled off his feet as they were stuck in the dirt. Obito had his sandals pulled so the ankle was clinging onto his foot. Both of them were covered in dirt from their neck down. As soon as they were out of the holes Minato-sensei put them down.

_*"Yuck!"* _exclaimed Obito as he flicked a grub off his arm. *_"I have dirt in places that should not be talked about,"* _he grumbled

Eldarion's eyes widened involuntarily for a moment, and then he shot a look at his brother.

_*"It was not necessary for you to inform me of that,"*_ he grumbled, dusting himself off and gently tossing a few renegade worms back into a hole.

"Incredible," murmured a deep, smooth voice. The lanky boy looked up to see a fat, armored man perched on the back of a large palomino horse. He wore a simple purple cap atop his shiny bald head, and sported a short, snowy white beard. The man's cheeks were red, and crow's feet lined the corners of his bright blue-grey eyes.

"_So this is Lord Forlong of Lossarnach,"_ he thought, intrigued.

"These shinobi are quite the find," said the Lord of Lossarnach. "How did you enlist their services?"

Aragorn looked slightly uncomfortable. "Ah, we ran into them by accident in the Mines of Moria. They come from a different world of sorts, and they couldn't return to it at the time, so they offered their services,"

"Oh, on that note, our rates might have changed," interjected Minato-sensei. "But that will have to be address later. We have yet to calculate how much a pint of _oni_ blood is worth,"

The looks on Imrahil's and Forlong's faces were priceless. Aragorn looked exasperated, and ran his hand over his face. Eldarion wished he had that machine that captures faces and scenes, oh, what was it called?

_*"We need a camera, Hoshi,"*_ muttered Obito into his ear. He nodded eagerly in agreement, doing his best to hide his amusement on his face.

"You sell blood?" asked Imrahil deliberately, a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"Good grief no!" cried Minato-sensei. "Aragorn is paying us a percentage in orc blood, so we need to calculate how much he has to pay in currency or other valuable things. Hoshi will help me in the calculations,"

Kakashi and Obito burst out laughing, and Eldarion felt his face grow hot.

"Sensei," he started in a small voice, embarrassed.

_*"Not in the math,"*_ the jōnin added quickly, reassuring his other two students. *_"Merely on the projected population of orcs, to see how rare they will become"* _

The pale genin nodded, his face still flushed. Aragorn shot him a questioning look.

"_I am not good with numbers,"_ he explained.

Kakashi suppressed a snort of laughter. *_"3 times 6 equals 9"*_

Eldarion shot a glare at his teammate. "Ha ha, can we move on?"

Minato-sensei walked over to his two students, moving away from the Gondorian lords, who were beginning to converse among themselves.

"Well, what brings you down here?" asked Minato-sensei.

"A little bird told me that you have my necklace," he said with a shrug, giving his sensei and expectant look.

The jōnin looked rather sheepish, and rubbed the back of his neck. Alarm bells set off in the elf-like boy's head.

"Ah, about that…"

"What did you do with it?" Eldarion asked coolly, trying to remain civil.

"Well, Orochimaru and the rest of Konoha's science department wanted to take a look at it, so I sent it over with a frog," explained the jōnin. "Sorry, I should have asked first,"

"Good thing for them that you did not, otherwise they would not have it," he said icily. "I let it go too easily last time. If you had wanted to do such research yourself, I would not protest,"

"Calm down Hoshi," soothed his yellow-haired sensei. "I'll get it back to you soon,"

Eldarion breathed deeply, and nodded. "Thank you Sensei. I hope nobody was harmed when you recovered my necklace,"

Minato-sensei smiled. "I had no trouble with asking them to give it back," he answered. "And they didn't give me any trouble in returning it. A vial of _oni_ blood and a seal seemed to be a good trade,"

"Minato!"

They looked up to see Imrahil beckoning them over. Forlong had dismounted, along with one of his men, and the rest of the army was reporting to Minas Tirith. Aragorn was looking rather uneasy as they approached, and Eldarion was acutely aware of his lack of footwear.

"I was never told how you came upon Hoshi!" said Imrahil, a curious look on his face. "Aragorn claims that he hails from Gondor,"

"Well, we found him in the desert," answered the jōnin. "Hoshi is from Gondor, but he hails from a different age,"

Forlong's eyes lit up. "A different age, you say? Then do you know if we have a chance against Sauron?"

"We get rid of him," Eldarion answered dryly. "Otherwise I would have not been born,"

The fat lord laughed, finding his remark to be amusing. Aragorn, however, looked a bit more anxious.

"Forgive me for being so bold," said Imrahil. "But you do not look entirely human. Is one of your parents one of the Eldar?"

The pale boy inwardly winced. This was one topic of conversation that drove him nuts.

"Yes and No," he answered with a straight face. "However, I am classified as one of the Dúnedain,"

"Oh, are you Aragorn's relative?" asked Forlong innocently. Aragorn's grey eyes widened; he did not seem to be entirely comfortable with what he recognized as being the truth.

"A cousin, nothing close really," Eldarion lied smoothly.

Imrahil did not look utterly convinced. His green-grey eyes flicked between the ranger and the elf-like genin, making the lanky boy feel rather uncomfortable.

"Ah, family," said Obito, throwing an arm over Eldarion's shoulder. "He's an adopted member of my clan," he stated proudly. "You don't usually get to pick your siblings, but I get pretty lucky,"

The pale Gondorian smiled, then put his brother into a headlock and mussed his short, black hair. Minato-sensei, Imrahil and Forlong laughed as the Uchiha wrestled out of Eldarion's grip, protesting the entire time. The lanky boy could see Aragorn's wistful expression out of the corner of his eye. He wished the ranger would smile more often.

"We should go to the city," said Forlong. "It is nearly time for the midday meal, is it not?"

Obito's stomach growled in agreement, much to the Uchiha's embarrassment. But the sheepish look was quickly replaced with a sly grin.

"Race you to the gate!" he yelled over his shoulder, running at top speed. Without so much a second thought, Eldarion shot after his brother, along with Kakashi.

"Cheater!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "Uchiha Obito is a cheater!"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Minato leaned back against the wooden booth he was currently sitting in; staring at the pint of ale he had just been given. He looked over at Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, who were drinking the ale like it was nowhere near lunchtime. The jōnin had just spent the entire morning being dragged around from one military meeting to the next as the shinobi representative. Hoshi should have been the representative, but the boy had run off after Aragorn had found him breakfast. He was already exhausted, after spending a portion of the night tracking down and trading Hoshi's necklace for a bijuu-suppression seal of his own design and a vial of the precious black blood. Minato was so far gone in his exhaustion that he did not care that he fell asleep during Lord Húrin's report on the city's damages.

"So, alcohol at lunch?" the jōnin commented, relieving a platter of the leg of some small fowl.

Gimli gave him an odd look. "What else would we drink?" he asked, punctuating the remark with a swig from the stein.

"We drink water, soda, tea, soda water, and coffee in the mornings," answered Minato.

"Soda?" asked Legolas, pronouncing the word oddly.

The Yellow Flash frowned slightly. "It's that drink we give Hoshi when he is delusional. He hates it, and I have a feeling that none of you would like it very much either,"

Aragorn nodded absently, and put a picked-clean bone on top of a pile of other cleaned-off bones.

"Minato, can you remind me which students are going to the _Morannon_ and which are staying here in Minas Tirith?"

The jōnin wilted and nearly dropped his tired head onto the splintery table. "Do you mind if I remind you later?" he asked. "I am just sick to death of all this planning. Can we talk about something else, please?"

The trio of Ardians looked at each other, a thoughtful look on their faces.

"Well," said Legolas, putting aside his ale. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Your homes, your friends, women, I don't know, anything but war planning," Minato said, all but whining, much to his disgust. The ale was starting to look appropriate right now.

"Hello Strider, fancy meeting you here!"

The quartet looked over to see Merry, Pippin, Rin and Anko sitting at a table that had been dragged to the end of the booth. Pippin was the one who had uttered the cheery greeting, while Merry was nose-deep in the stein. Rin and Anko were gnawing on the roasted wings of some large fowl.

"So Sensei, when are you going to ask out Kushina-san?" asked his small student innocently. Minato's blue eyes widened in shock. "Rin!" he hissed, his face growing warm.

"Don't blame us for wanting to know," commented Anko. "Minato-sensei and Kushina-san have been good friends for years-"

"And nothing more!" he interjected urgently.

"So they claim," continued Rin without skipping a beat. "But it is obvious to a rock that they were made for each other. _*Admit it Sensei, Hoshi saw you pulling a Jiraiya a week before we got into this world.*_"

The jōnin couldn't do much else other than sputter. All the others, bar Legolas looked amused. The blonde elf, however, looked confused.

"What does "pulling a Jiraiya" mean?" he asked. Minato shot the two girls a warning look, promising hell if they were to define that term.

"Looking at a woman while she bathes," answered Hoshi, who had just appeared, drizzling the fowl's leg with honey.

Legolas looked appalled, Gimli, Pippin and Merry laughed, and Aragorn seemed to be surprised. Minato finally allowed his head to hit the table.

"Hoshi, go run three laps per level, and if you are not done in five hours, you are to write the report to the Hokage when we return. Understood?" he growled.

"Yes, Sensei," he answered obediently, sounding confused. There was the sound of the chair being pulled away from the table and Hoshi walking away. The jōnin could feel a small hand patting him on the back.

"There, there Minato," soothed Merry. "Hoshi didn't know any better. Besides, it does not lower our esteem of you one bit, right Pippin,"

"Indeed, Merry," agreed his cousin. "I am sure Gimli shares our sentiments, right Gimli?"

There was a belch, and the table shook slightly as a stein was slammed onto its surface.

"Of course I share your sentiments!" declared the dwarf enthusiastically. "However, if the women of your land are anything like Miss Anko, then what you did must have been a risky endeavor,"

"A risky and disrespectful endeavor!" exclaimed Legolas, still sounding appalled. "This must have been a one-time event, I assume,"

"You must feel a great deal of affection for her to do that," said Aragorn softly. "Or is lust a better word?" he added in a mutter.

"It sounds like you did something like that before, Strider," said Anko innocently. Minato lifted his head to see the ranger's face turn bright red, and Rin smack the back of her fellow kunoichi's head.

"That was inappropriate," said the medic. "Apologize, Anko,"

The violet-haired girl frowned. "Sorry for embarrassing you?" she ventured sincerely. "Yeah, sorry for putting you on the spot,"

Aragorn shook his head mutely. Legolas was openly gaping at him, as were the Merry and Pippin.

"Welcome to the club," muttered Minato, sympathetic.

Gimli elbowed Legolas in the gut. "Leave the lad alone would you?" he grumbled good-naturedly. "What's done is done, no need to dwell on actions that do not affect the fate of Arda,"

The elf closed his mouth, but shot the tall man an indecipherable look. Merry and Pippin turned back to their food as if the incident never occurred. There was a moment of awkward silence, which was broken by Anko.

"So, ale during lunch…"

Minato couldn't help but laugh along with the others. It truly was nice to have a reprieve from planning the upcoming battle.

"Sensei?" asked Rin. "When are you all leaving for the Black Gate?"

The jōnin mentally groaned. _"It looks like I spoke too soon,"_


	29. Chapter 29

**AN****:**

**Thank you ZecoreZecron, Guest, and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you to ZabuzasGirl for favoriting and Elevanya for following this story.**

**A giant thanks to all of you for being so patient! Views and reviews are equally loved!**

**Thank you all for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Sam knew that he would encounter things that the others back in the Shire would never dream about. But even after running from the Black Riders, listening on important councils hosted by elves, fighting orcs, disturbing ancient demons, crossing a marsh of the Dead, and fighting the mother of all spiders, Sam could still be shocked. Badly.<p>

_*"You look a bit peaky, dear. Would you like some food?"*_ greeted a **toad**_._ A talking, female **toad**. Mr. Frodo, whom the question was directed toward, all but fainted on the spot. Sam could not understand the words coming from the mouth of the animal…person…thing, and was unable to decide if his friend and employer was stunned by the shock or was cursed. The blonde hobbit suddenly felt a heavy hand on his head, and another large head covered Frodo's head. A sudden rush of energy and power flooded through him. His keen ears felt opened and his tongue loosened. The hands were removed from the two hobbit's heads, and their owner walked over to the other side of the table they were seated at and sat down.

"I guess animals do not talk where you come from. My name is Jiraiya, and I am Orochimaru's friend and teammate,"

Jiraiya was a young man with light skin and smiling dark eyes. Under his dark eyes were red lines which went down his cheeks to his square jaw. In spite of his youth, the man's incredibly long, spikey hair was pure white. Mr. Frodo seemed to be coming out of his shock, and nodded a stiff greeting.

"And my name is Shima," greeted the upright, cloak-clothed toad. "Sorry for surprising you, my dear,"

Mr. Frodo nodded to her also. "My name is Frodo Baggins, and this is Samwise Gamgee. We are hobbits of the Shire,"

Jiraiya's eyes lit up. "Ah, so you are from the world Hoshi hails from?" he asked. "Did you end up meeting anyone named Minato?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, in the Mines of Moria," he answered with note of sadness. "He and his team ended up offering their services to the group we were traveling with, and it seems that they are still there,"

"As long as they are well," said Shima with a sigh. "Would you two like some tea?"

Sam nodded, as did Mr. Frodo and the toad lady went to prepare the tea.

There was the noise of a door opening, and everyone turned their heads to see Orochimaru walk in.

"Hey, it seems that you were telling the truth in your reports," commented the white-haired man.

The serpentine shinobi snorted. "Do I have a reason to fib?" he responded, bowing hello to Shima.

"Well," drawled Jiraiya, leaning back. "You never told me about the lovely ladies of the Crescent Moon, the geisha of the Land of Iron, or that priestess in the Land Demons…" he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Because you would take them the wrong way," Orochimaru responded sharply, pulling a clothed sphere from his green vest.

The other man deflated. "Aw, you suck the fun out of everything, Oro-chan," Ignoring the pale man's venomous look, Jiraiya turned to the two hobbits.

"So, how beautiful are the women where you are from?"

Sam was speechless, as was Frodo.

"Jiraiya boy!" scolded Shima from the stove. "Keep your perverted questions to yourself!"

"Ah, but Shima-_baasama_!" moaned Jiraiya. "I am just curious!"

"You have disturbed our guests!" she said, placing the tea on the table. "Try to keep your conversation polite, at least. I am headed out. Feel free to use my house, but do not make a mess and leave a note if you leave,"

"Yes, Shima-_baasama_," chorused the two shinobi as she walked out the door. After a minute, Orochimaru followed her out, uncovering the sphere and making a hand sign at the same time.

The white-haired man sighed. "Well, I doubt that you would like to talk about _jutsus_, or women. But would you like to hear a story?" he asked.

Sam was immediately interested, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Frodo lean forward in anticipation.

"Please do!" said Sam, picking up his cup of hot tea. Frodo nodded, a small smile on his face.

"Well, let me tell you the story of a ninja. He wasn't just any ninja; he was a gutsy ninja…"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

"…so Mr. Bilbo returned to Hobbiton, only to find that Bag-End and his belongings were being auctioned off because the folk back at home presumed him to be dead!"

Jiraiya roared with laughter. "Are you serious?" he said boisterously, a large grin on his face. "Did he get his house and things back?"

Frodo nodded, picking up the story from Sam. "Fortunately, he did get Bag-End back, but Uncle Bilbo had to buy most of his things from the people who had bought them. But he ended up losing many silver spoons,"

"Which were most likely taken by the Sackville-Bagginses," added Sam. "They were bitterly disappointed that they couldn't live in Bag-End. I am still shocked that you sold Bag-End to Lobelia,"

"Well, a Baggins, Sackville or otherwise, should be living in Bag End," remarked Frodo with a shrug. "She would have ended up possessing the property anyway. It would have been a shame to let such a beautiful, comfy hole go to waste," he finished with a wistful sigh. Jiraiya smiled gently at the two hobbits, and played with a small, porcelain bottle.

"Frodo, can you give Hoshi a copy of your uncle's book?" asked the shinobi. "Hoshi can translate it for me, so the language is no problem," the man chuckled softly. "That kid knows several…inspirational…stories. Though I don't think his father liked my chosen genre of adaptation,"

Frodo's eyes widened. "You met Hoshi's father? When?"

The white haired shinobi shrugged indifferently. "When I finished my story and we had a break. Orochimaru was talking to him and Minato through a crystal ball of sorts. He was never explicitly introduced as Hoshi's dad, but if they aren't related then I'll eat my _geta_."

Frodo looked over to Sam, who looked over to him. Before either of them could ask their questions, Orochimaru interrupted them.

"Let's discuss the little prince's lineage another day, Jiraiya," said the serpentine man. "You and I are taking the hobbits with us to Konoha, now,"

The white-haired man sat up straight. "Why?" he asked.

The pale-skinned shinobi shot him a sour look as he gathered his things. "The council wants to settle our payment with the Fellowship and talk to Aragorn,"

Jiraiya stood up, a frown on his face. "No offense to Aragorn, but what could the elders possibly want to discuss with him?"

"Idiot," huffed the black-haired man. "Aragorn is heir to the throne of a kingdom, and is already the ruler of another. He is also our accidental, but primary, client. Now Frodo, do you mind getting on my back? Sam, do you mind getting carried by Jiraiya?"

As soon as they were on the shinobi's respective backs, Shima returned.

"Jiraiya boy, leaving so soon?" she asked. Frodo suddenly realized that he was about as tall as the lady toad.

"Yes," answered the incredibly tall shinobi. "Do you mind sending us to Konoha?"

"Not at all!" answered Shima cheerfully. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yes," Orochimaru answered stiffly.

With a nod, the lady toad made a series of signs with her webbed hands and finished by slamming one into the ground. Frodo felt engulfed by a wave of energy, and everything went white. Then they appeared on top a building. It was overlooking a large town, comprised of many odd buildings of different sizes, shapes and colors. Wedged between the buildings were tall trees; in fact, trees made up most of the landscape. The two shinobi turned around to face a cliff, and the sight before Frodo's eyes astonished him. Three giant heads were carved into the yellow-brown stone, looking out over the town beneath them.

"Those are the heads of our _Hokages_, or village leaders, past and present," explained Orochimaru quietly, leaping off the building and landing on a neighboring roof. "You will be meeting the one on the far right, Sarutobi-sensei,"

"Oh, where are the first two?" asked Sam as Jiraiya landed next to them then leapt onto another roof.

"Dead," Orochimaru answered shortly. The chill in the shinobi's voice made Frodo unconsciously flinch. The pale man had easily caught up to his white-haired friend, who wore a grim look on his face.

"I forgot just what things were like when we are at war," said Jiraiya sardonically. "It is so quiet and tense. Doesn't feel colder?"

A gust of chilly wind hit Frodo's back and the hobbit shuddered.

"Don't be silly Toad," scolded Orochimaru. "The sun isn't out,"

The dark-haired hobbit, curious as to what their destination was, attempted to look over the serpentine man's shoulder through the curtain of inky black hair. The shinobi seemed to notice Frodo's actions, and pulled his hair out of the halfling's face. As soon as he did that, a pair of masked men suddenly appeared in front of them. The two hobbits instinctively started, and Frodo nearly fell of the shinobi's back. Jiraiya and Orochimaru abruptly stopped, and Jiraiya frowned at them.

"Seriously?" he asked, disbelief on his features.

"We were told that the White Snake had an S-rank weapon in his possession," said one with a mask depicting a bird's face. "The Council did not want it to be stolen and its caretaker harmed,"

The other, wearing a mask that depicted the face of a cat, shrugged. "Sarutobi-_sama_ wanted me to keep an eye on Sparrow," she said, pointing to the Bird-mask. The women with bright-red fingernails removed her mask, smiling at the hobbits. "So these are the little folk Hoshi mentioned! They are cute!"

"They are intelligent beings," snapped Orochimaru, walking past the copper-colored, dark-haired woman. "Not kittens. You will do well to remember that, Akira,"

They arrived at their destination, a circular, red building with five metal prongs spaced around the outside of the roof. The shinobi landed at the foot of the building, at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Orochimaru and Jiraiya knelt down, and Frodo slid off the man's back. They walked up the stairs in absolute silence, except for Akira whistling a tune that sounded suspiciously like his 'Merry Inn' song. The carpet on the floor was nice and soft after the hard stairs. They finally stopped at a door and Sparrow knocked.

"It opens," declared a deep and irritated voice. The masked man pushed the door open and led the group into a large room. A large group of people were sitting on cushions around a low wooden table that appeared to have just been dragged in. There were not any windows, and Frodo could spot two candles. The candles were on a large desk at the end of the room, and a slight man wearing a broad, basket-like hat sat in an oversized, overstuffed chair. A crystal ball was perched on a pillow before the long, brown-haired man, who had a hand on his forehead in irritation. The man's resemblance to the third face on the mountain led Frodo to conclude that he was the Hokage. He straightened up and the frown on his face lessened when he saw them walk in.

"Ah, some solid proof," declared a man with long brown hair and milky-white, pupiless eyes.

"Was Hoshi not solid proof, Masaaki?" snapped a grey-haired man with black eyes, gesturing with a red fan.

"He isn't exactly stable in the head," added another man with strawberry blonde hair. "He could have been making up the stories,"

"Come now, Toru," said a bored-looking man with spiky black hair. "You are just mad that you were unable to properly read his memories,"

Toru slammed the table with his fist, furious. "Excuse me?!"

"QUIET!" roared a man with a scarred chin and bandages wrapped around his right eye. The temperature of the room dropped a few degrees and everyone in the room sat rigidly at attention, completely silent. The one-eyed shinobi, who had leapt up in his command, sat back down on his cushion.

"Thank you, Danzō," said the bearded man behind the desk. "You all know why we are here, except possibly for our newcomers,"

"Indeed," said Sam. "Why are we here?"

"Orochimaru-san, you reported that you were in possession of an S-rank weapon," said Danzō. "Which one is it?"

Frodo suddenly felt cold. _"He thinks one of _us _is a weapon," _he thought with a shiver. There was a sudden cry of pain and fear from the white-eyed man, clutching his head and pressing his palms into his eyes.

"What is wrong?" asked an androgynous shinobi, (who was completely covered by a coat with a high collar) in a flat voice.

"What the hell is that?!" asked Masaaki, shaking. The grey-haired fan wielder peered at Frodo with red eyes (_"weren't they black?" _he though) and also recoiled.

A twisted grin appeared on Orochimaru's face as he stepped onto the table.

"_Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,_

_Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,_

_Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,_

_One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne_

_In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie_

_One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,_

_One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them_

_In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."_

He recited the poem with a malevolent grin on his face, while pulling out a marbled sphere.

"Frodo was on the way to destroy a magic ring; a ring which makes mortals invisible and amplifies their powers at the price of their freedom, health and, most of all, their sanity! If anyone makes one move to even look at the Ring for an extended amount of time, I will cut your fingers off, understood?" He waited for everyone to nod before he continued. "The Ring is not to be used. We just happen to be here for a pit stop. So, you would like for me to contact Minato and the others?"

The Hokage nodded wearily. "We need to discuss a few things with our clients," he explained, before noticing that Frodo, Sam and Jiraiya were still standing.

"Please, sit down," he said with a small smile as Orochimaru walked over and sat down in the middle of the table. After the two hobbits had settled themselves on a pair of comfortable cushions, the serpentine man activated the orb.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Gimli did not know what he was doing in the Houses of Healing. Obito had joked that the healers needed his axe to amputate limbs, which had turned out to be the case for one unlucky Haradim. But the rest of his time he spent entertaining the injured men, which mystified him.

"_I am a dwarf!"_ he thought. _ "Why am I not with the stonemason's guild right now?"_

But of course, the stonemasons of Gondor had a silly practice of refusing to work one day a week. Apparently the practice started during the construction of the city-fort when having the day of rest seemed to speed up the process and increase the quality of the work. So Gimli had a day off and little to nothing to do except drink, sing and chop off infected legs.

"Gimli, do you have any eights?"

The dwarf scowled at Legolas, who wore a smug look on his face. The red-bearded dwarf grudgingly handed over his three "eights". The elvish princeling had been dominating the game from the onset, and Obito had openly lamented his "brilliant plan" of playing a simple card game. The small boy, devoid of cards, was watching the three men, the elf and the dwarf play "Go Fish".

"Strider! Oi, Strider!" Kuro, wearing a blood-splattered apron, ran into the room, holding the palantír in his hand. Obito's long-haired cousin soon spotted them and made a beeline to the card game.

"Hey, have any of you seen Strider?" he asked. Obito shook his head.

"Nope, not since before lunch," he answered.

"I have not seen him since after our midday meal," grumbled Gimli, resisting the urge to peek up from his cards to see just who wanted to talk to Aragorn.

"I know where he is," said Legolas, taking the last set of cards from Obito and winning the game.

"Oh thank Kami!" cried Kuro, almost laughing with relief.

"Kuro!" cried Rin, sticking her head into the hall with an annoyed look on her face. "You still have patients!"

"Here!" the long-lashed boy shoved the sphere into Legolas' hands. "Get this to Strider, ASAP!" he said before running out of the hall. The elf stood up, looking a bit stunned. Obito was picking up the cards that Legolas had dropped in order to hold the palantír.

"Well then," murmured the archer. "Gimli, let us go deliver this to Aragorn,"

"Wait, I am coming with you!" cried Obito, throwing the cards on top of a rickety table and running after the two. Legolas led them to a beaten-up stone building on the first circle of the city, still nervously holding the Seeing Stone. Gimli spotted someone standing by the wooden door. Hoshi was leaning on the doorframe, inspecting his bare left foot. The elf-like boy looked up, and, spotting the trio, smiled. The dwarf noticed how red the child's feet were. It looked like Hoshi had taken on Minato's command without shoes of any kind.

"What the heck happened to your feet?" asked Obito, staring at the slightly battered appendages.

"I did three laps around the city," Hoshi said plainly, before yanking his foot up to eye-level. "They are in pretty good shape for having been around every level three times, neh?"

The black-haired shinobi simply shook his head, not bothering to ask. "What are you doing here?" he asked

"Reporting to Minato-sensei," he answered, then looking over to the elf and the dwarf. "What about you?"

"Delivering a message," said Legolas, holding out the palantír. Hoshi's grey-blue eyes widened, clearly surprised.

"Well, no need to waste time," he said, putting his foot back on the ground and promptly knocking on the door. It was answered by Gamling, the Rohirric king's aide.

"We are bringing a message to Aragorn," explained Gimli.

The Rohir nodded in understanding. "Please follow me," he said, leading them into a dark stone hallway. Hoshi hummed a tune somewhere behind them, while Legolas was staring into the faintly glowing Seeing Stone. Gimli frowned.

"Does not someone wish to speak to Aragorn?" he asked.

The elf nodded. "Someone does, however, all I see darkness,"

Gamling stopped before a weak-looking door and gently knocked.

"It opens," declared an unfamiliar voice. The Rohir pushed the door open and gestured for the quartet to enter. Gandalf, Minato, Aragorn, Eomer, Imrahil of Dol Amroth, Forlong of Lossarnach, a weak-looking Faramir, brother of Boromir, a few other nameless lords and Iorlas sat around a dark wooden table with a calendar and several maps. Light was provided by a multitude of candles and small windows set close to the ceiling. The men seemed to be preoccupied by a letter on the table. Gimli was about to open his mouth when a horrific shriek caused everyone within earshot to jump. The dwarf whirled around just in time to see Legolas drop the palantír and stumble backwards, landing heavily on his backside. Obito snatched the Seeing Stone from midair and stared into its depths. Hoshi's hands were clamped over his ears and he peered into the sphere as well. Legolas was trembling badly, his eyes wide.

"What happened?" asked Gandalf, leaping out of his chair and hastening over to the elf.

_*"I am so sorry!"*_ cried a voice from the palantír. *_"Are you alright?"*_

Obito proceeded to give the person a tongue-lashing, while Hoshi explained.

"That is Uchiha Isao on the other end," he said, sounding confused. "He briefly caught Legolas in some type of _genjutsu_, but I do not know why he would do that,"

"Hey!" cried the same voice, but this time in Westron. "Sour-on popped up so we decided to annoy him,"

"After hiding the hah..hoh…hobitos, of course," added a female voice with a faint growl hiding in the excited tone. "He was really mad that Orochimaru-san gave him a dinky crystal ball,"

"Minato, are you there?" called out baritone voice. "Obito, give the Seeing Stone to your sensei,"

Gimli was feeling overwhelmed by the accented voices as the black-haired handed the palantír over to the yellow-haired shinobi, who quickly made a series of hand seals. Suddenly there was a projection of the image within the palantír hovering vertically above the middle of the table. They were given a view of a low wooden table with thirteen people sitting around it. Gimli was able to recognize their leader, Sarutobi, and Orochimaru.

"Where are Frodo and Sam?" asked Aragorn, his eyes narrowing.

Orochimaru's dragon-like eyes darted around. "Masaaki?"

"All clear; he is gone," answered a man with pupiless, milky-white , with veins bulging around the eyes, and long brown hair. The Dwarf was forcefully reminded of an elf.

A man with long, spiky, white hair pulled out a scroll and removed two large jar-shaped objects from it with a cloud of smoke. A person wearing a grey, high-collared coat with a gourd and glasses stood up and released a cloud of insects from their sleeves, which crowded over a seal on eat jar and ate it away.

"_So that is an Aburame,"_ thought Gimli, recalling the old conversation with Obito and Hoshi.

The jars lids shot open, and Frodo and Sam each crawled out of the pottery, looking rather shaken.

"Was that all necessary?" asked Sam.

"Better safe than sorry," said Sarutobi gently. The man then peered concernedly at Legolas.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

The elf nodded, still pale and trembling oh-so slightly. "I am fine," he answered with a weak smile, settling himself into a chair. "Was that…a genjutsu?"

The shinobi looked over to the grey-haired Uchiha with a frown on his face. Isao scratched the back of his head with a red fan, looking very contrite.

"Good thing I am blind in one eye," he said nervously. "It was only a variation of Demonic Illusions: Hell-Viewing Technique,"

"The one that messes with people's minds," grumbled a man with strawberry blonde hair.

"Can it Toru!" snapped a short-haired woman who was reclining on an enormous dog. "Stop whining so we can get on with the meeting! Some of us actually have things to do,"

A large man with marks on his cheeks beside Toru huffed. "May I ask why we even are here in the first place?"

"Well," said Sarutobi gently. "I have called together this assembly to talk with our client about payment,"

"Why do you need us to decide payment?" asked a sleepy-looking man with an upright hair-style

"You will see," cryptically answered a man with a scarred chin and a covered eye.

"So then, which one of you is Aragorn?" asked the shinobi leader cheerfully.

Gimli felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned his head to see Hoshi presenting him with a stool. The dwarf gratefully took the seat and sat down.

"I am Aragorn," declared the ranger, causing all eyes to turn toward him.

The brown-bearded leader bowed his head slightly. "I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hokage of Konoha. It is a pleasure to meet you,"

A faint smile crossed the tall man's face. "The sentiment is mutual,"

Saruobi then turned to Minato, who stood rigidly at attention. "Minato, have you calculated the worth of the black blood?" he asked.

"Hoshi has yet to give me a projection of their future populations," responded Minato.

"I can provide that right now," answered Hoshi, moving closer to the projection. "Please keep in mind that these are merely estimates," the boy took a deep breath and began.

"When I was four years old, which is ten years from now, there were roughly one hundred thousand orcs and goblins in the Misty Mountains, fifty thousand orcs in Mordor, and a hundred orcs in the far north. The last report on the population of orcish population I heard of, which was a week before I…got lost, said that there were ten thousand orcs and goblins in the Misty Mountains, two thousand orcs in Mordor, and the far north had been cleared out,"

Orochimaru scowled. "Is there any particular reason why the population dramatically decreased?" he asked.

"We are killing them of course," Hoshi said without batting an eye. "That is also coupled by disease, internal strife and a hunger,"

Gimli was pleased that there would be less orcs and goblins in the world. Legolas and several of the men made pleased noises upon hearing the news. The shinobi, however, appeared to be rather uncomfortable; Orochimaru was downright appalled.

"Before you protest," quickly added the elf-like child. "Put yourselves in our shoes. Orcs and their ilk were created for the sole purpose of carrying out Morgoth's wishes. Morgoth was the master of Sauron, but he was done away with. Sauron is attempting to fulfill his master's legacy and needs orcs to do so. The idealist would say that they could live peacefully alongside humans after a long period of rehabilitation. Considering how long they have been acting as our predator and antagonist, orcs would have to be remolded for three ages! There is too much ill-will between orcs and men, elves and dwarves for us to live peacefully,"

"That does not explain the cooperative effort to commit genocide," Orochimaru said dryly.

"Would you allow a rabid wolf to continue gnawing on your leg if you could remove it?" asked Aragorn.

The scarred man chuckled darkly. "So, the black blood is relatively cheap now, but will eventually become more expensive. I assume that your agreement of payment will allow us to go hunting in Mordor, no?"

Imrahil frowned. "They need to be cleared first before they enter," he said.

All the shinobi nodded in agreement. "Of course," said Sarutobi. "That should cover 35% of the bill,"

Minato crossed his arms across his chest. "What is the total of the bill?" he asked.

The sleepy looking man blinked rapidly and tugged his head upright. "Eh, before the 35% we are billing 15,000,000 ryō for the mission,"

Minato let out a low whistle. Obito's eyes nearly jumped out of his sockets and Hoshi choked in shock.

"Judging the currency Hoshi had on him," continued the dark-haired shinobi drowsily. "That is only 1408315.50 when converted, if I happen to be correct. With 35% already paid, it amounts to 492910.43 using the currency Hoshi has,"

Hoshi was scowling mightily; Gimli found his expression to be quite amusing. "There is one problem with that, Fumio-san. The currency I have was adopted when I was nine years old. I am only able to use it because I hold a few pure gold coins,"

The nobles looked to Faramir, who seemed paler than ever. "It is possible for the king's treasury to pay for this," he said softly. "But it would lead to mild inflation,"

Aragorn was not looking too pleased. Gimli felt bad for the man and decided to offer his support.

"I can help foot the bill," he offered. "After all, it was more of the Fellowship hiring them rather than just you asking for their services,"

"I can pitch in as well," Legolas proposed cheerfully. "Ada has so much gold he wouldn't miss a bit if it went missing,"

The ranger nodded in thanks, scowling heavily at Orochimaru. "I gave you the Orthanc, so why is that not counted?" he asked.

"You gave him the Orthanc!" hissed Imrahil. "Is that even in your power to do so?"

The other Gondorian nobles appeared to be very much ill at ease, and whispers flew around the room.

"It was counted," the serpentine man answered blithely. "If I did not take it as my share, you would have to pay 16,000,000 ryō instead of 15,000,000 ryō,"

"Hey!" cried Isao, waving his fan around. "You forgot the deductible,"

"Oh, yes, sorry," Fumio said with a yawn. "It went from 5,250,000 ryō to 525,000 ryō,"

Gimli pinched the bridge of his nose. Thankfully the final number they were given seemed to be manageable, but there still was a problem.

"How do you want us to pay for this?" asked Faramir, holding a ledger.

The scarred man smiled slyly. "With gold and other precious metals, of course," he said. "Some of those elfstones would be lovely as well,"

Hoshi tensed at the mention of elfstones. "Speaking of elfstones," he said coolly. "I want my necklace back, now,"

Orochimaru waved him off. "Calm yourself, I will return it," he said nonchalantly. The pale boy did not look pleased, but he did not make a fuss.

"However," added the scarred shinobi. "That will only be part of the payment,"

Frowns crossed the shinobis' faces as they looked at one another in confusion.

"I beg your pardon, Danzō-sama," said the white-haired man. "But what more could we ask of them?"

"Unrestricted passage from Isengard to Cirith Ungol," Danzō answered smoothly.

Everyone was silent for a while. Gimli crossed his arms across his chest, frowning slightly.

"Why do want that?" asked the dwarf. "I am positive that it is not for trade,"

"They want a safe route into the Land of Rocks," said Obito, a look of understanding on his face. "There must be an opening in Kill-riff Un-gall to someplace near Iwa,"

"A few miles south of the village," Orochimaru said with a nod. "I merely created a portal of sorts in the Orthanc; it was not there to begin with,"

"What they want is a safe passage into the heart of an enemy country, and a place they can retreat to," said Iorlas, his eyes flicking over to Imrahil, who nodded in agreement.

"We can guarantee unrestricted passage through Gondor," said Forlong. "But not Rohan,"

Sarutobi nodded, his eyes darting around. "Is Théoden no longer in charge?" he asked.

"He died in battle two days ago," Eomer said stiffly. "I am Eomer, his nephew,"

"I am sorry to hear that," the shinobi leader said gently, looking genuinely mournful. "My condolences to your family,"

"Thank you, sir," the Rohir murmured greatfully. "I personally do not see a problem with your request, as long as your people do not harm my people or their property,"

A smile crossed Danzō's scarred and bandaged face. "Wonderful! What say you, Aragorn?"

The ranger had been absolutely silent during the exchange. His hands were steepled in front of his face, masking a frown of displeasure.

"Go ahead with your plan," he said indifferently. "But I must ask this of Orochimaru," He paused, allowing his irritation to steep in the air. "How in the name of Morgoth's bastard are you going to take the hobbits back to Mordor?!"


	30. Chapter 30

**AN****:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity, mistyfoxmaid, and Dareagon for reviewing! Another thanks goes to those who favorited my stories: FLM12299, paigebrumby and CrazyForYuu (Kanda Yuu?). And last but not least, thank you vnienhuis, wolfbane02, and Fille des Reves.**

**Thank You for all the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Aragorn was expecting an arrogant response from Orochimaru. That man seemed to look upon Arda as a fascinating object that existed for the sole purpose of his entertainment. But the snake-like shinobi's response completely surprised him.<p>

"I have not been able to find a route to the connecting tunnel," sighed Orochimaru, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Maybe you can help me find one,"

The Dúnedain scowled at the shinobi. "There is no other way," he said, disapproval coloring his words. "Unless you can somehow sneak through what appears to be miles of enemy territory in your land or ours, you have no way back to Mordor,"

"Have a frog take him," said Hoshi suddenly. Everyone turned in the boy's direction, wanting to hear his plan.

"I think you mean a toad," said Obito, raising an eyebrow at his brother.

Hoshi rolled his eyes. "Whichever emfibious-"

"Amphibious,"

"Whichever AMPHIBIOUS animal Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama summon can take them to Mordor!" he snapped at a smug Obito.

There was a moment of silence as the information was processed.

"Interesting idea, _Gaijin_," commented Danzō. "Not a bad plan,"

"Begging your pardon," said Forlong, looking rather lost. "But I fail to see how a frog or toad can carry two halflings and a man an inch, let alone to Mordor,"

"Nobody said anything about the toad carrying them," commented a dark-skinned woman breezily.

Something seemed to click in Gandalf's head. "Frodo, Sam and Orochimaru will be sealed into a scroll, which will be given to a toad. Minato will go to Cirith Urgol, summon the toad, and release them from the scroll," he said.

Sarutobi suddenly smiled. "I couldn't have said it better myself!" he cried, looking delighted.

"Wait just a minute!" snapped Orochimaru, holding up his hand. "I am not using a toad as my transport,"

"Please swallow your pride, just this once," growled Gimli. "There are no adults here that can summon your snake, and we are not sending a child into Mordor,"

The serpentine man shot a blood-curling glare at the dwarf, who paled but still held eye contact.

"Orochimaru," scolded Sarutobi, his brown eyes narrowing. The black-haired shinobi stopped glaring at Gimli and huffed.

"Fine, I'll go along the bloody brilliant plan," he snarled, before switching his angry gaze to Hoshi, snapping something out in their language. The grey-eyed boy looked unconcerned. Seconds later Orochimaru was hit in the eye by a thrown red fan.

"You try that and the Uchiha clan will be more than happy to remove YOUR kidneys!"

The image projected suddenly blurred, appearing to have been grabbed and taken out of the room. Aragorn could hear the sound of fighting as the palantír was hastened out of the room. Finally, the hands were removed, revealing Frodo, Sam, and a bird-masked shinobi.

"I am sorry about their lack of conduct," apologized the masked shinobi. "When are you expected to arrive at the Black Gate?"

"Late morning, a week from now," answered Imrahil promptly. The shinobi paused for a second, then slowly nodded.

"Excellent," it said in its unwaveringly flat voice. "Our business is now finished. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to turn this thing off," it said, tapping the palantír.

There was a sudden explosion of wood, plaster and paint as Jiraiya broke through the wall and ended up on the other side of the hallway, feet in the air. Seconds later the man leapt to his feet and charged, roaring like a bull, through the new hole. Frodo and Sam were trembling, startled by the noise made by the breaking wall. The masked shinobi was barely phased.

"Pardon me," asked Iorlas hesitantly. "But do such brawls occur often?"

"No," answered the shinobi shortly. "Everyone in that room simply has a short temper or love of fighting. Nearly all of them are recovering from injuries. Minato, do you know how to turn this off?"

Aragorn looked over to see the yellow-haired man, standing between Prince Imrahil and Lord Húrin, weaving all sorts of hand seals over the palantír. Finally he held the Seeing Stone in front of the two men and asked them a question in a low voice. When the older lord whispered the answer, Minato stood up straight, glaring at the orb.

"What the hell does 'Locked' mean?!" he cried looking indignant.

Hoshi stood up with a huff, walked over to his teacher and calmly took the sphere. He began to turn the Seeing Stone over in his hands, humming a jaunty tune.

"Maybe you could release it," Hoshi suggested, barely pausing as he continued to hum.

The masked shinobi's head cocked to the side. For a moment, it seemed like it was about to respond.

"Duck!" yelled Sam, yanking the shinobi and Frodo down. Seconds later something sailed over their heads and out of view. There was a faint crash, indicating that whatever had been thrown did not have a pleasant landing. Obito, who had moved to stand beside his brother, winced.

"That's got to hurt," he said. Hoshi also winced in sympathy.

"Are you three okay?" asked Minato.

Before any one of them could answer, a high-pitched, painful whine was suddenly emmited from the hobbit's side. Aragorn grimaced at the piercing sound, and Legolas outright left the hall. The masked shinobi made a hand sign, and then charged out of view. There was the sound of an explosion, and debris flew across their field of vision. It grabbed Frodo, Sam, and the palantír, and apparently jumped out of a newly made hole in the wall; it was difficult to tell. Some distance away, the palantír ceased to be blurry.

"The hobitus are safe," reported the masked shinobi, who appeared to be perched in a tree. "So, I just have to release it like a genjutsu?"

Hoshi nodded gingerly, a pained look on his face. The shinobi huffed, his hand forming into a seal.

"You might want to find a bucket, _Gaijin_," it remarked in a monotone. Then the projection went dark, and soon dissolved. Hoshi wasted no time in shoving the palantír into Obito's arms and running out of the room.

"What on earth does he need a bucket for?" wondered Obito aloud.

"Loud, persistent noises can make some people nauseous," answered Aragorn, feeling sorry for Hoshi. "It seems to bother elves more than dwarves or men. I am not too sure how hobbits react to such noise,"

Minato shot him a surprised look. "How did you figure that out?" he asked.

"The Nazgûl were kind enough to educate me on the matter," Aragorn answered shortly, preferring not to dwell on the Nine. The Dúnedain then shifted his attention back to the lords sitting around the large table before him.

"I trust that things will be carried out as planned," he said. Everyone nodded, their faces grave.

"Wait, it's going to take us a week and a day to reach the Black Gate?!" asked Minato a shocked look on his face.

"Give or take a few hours," added Imrahil. "I take it that your people are used to moving at a faster pace,"

The yellow-haired shinobi looked thoughtful. "Yes, that is true," he remarked. "Then again we fight in smaller groups and are rarely clad in any form of heavy armor. But do we have 15 days to spare?"

One of the younger lords chuckled. "We are in better shape than Sauron is. His forces are still recovering, while we are going to march tomorrow morning,"

Minato did not look wholly convinced. "I will take your word for it. My two students and Orochimaru's three are excellent scouts, so feel free to put them to use. I will wait at Cirith Ungol, and summon Frodo, Sam, and Orochimaru two days before your expected arrival at the Black Gate. Orochimaru has their back, but I believe that he will join us once they reach the foot of the mountain. Is there anything else I need to know?"

Faramir cleared his throat. "Watch out for Shelob," he said weakly. "She is a giant spider who has made the pass her dwelling. I would suggest avoiding her if you can help it,"

Minato nodded. "Would you like me to make the effort of killing her?"

Aragorn frowned. "Can you?" he asked.

"He should be able to," said Hoshi, who walked back into the room with Legolas. "Sam managed to damage her enough to leave Frodo alone, and that was only with Sting and Galadriel's gift to Frodo,"

Obito grinned evilly. "Imagine what a fireball would do!"

Hoshi sighed, grabbed his brother's arm, causing him to drop the palantír, and dragged Obito out of the room.

"Where are you two going?" asked Gimli, looking confused.

"I need to speak to the cook of the Blind Archer about the quality of his meats," the boy said acridly, his ears flushed with embarrassment.

"Haha!" laughed Obito as he was pulled out of the door. "That's what you get for being a cheapskate!"

There was a moment of silence, as everyone figured out how to react to that scene. Minato was the first to speak, an utterly confused look on his face.

"Okay!" he cried, overly cheerful for one reason or another. "I am exhausted, so I am going to hit the sack. Take care,"

The yellow-haired shinobi darted out of the room in the blink of an eye. Aragorn could hear several of the lords exhaling sighs of relief.

"Are all…shin-obee…this, well, strange?" asked Eithor, a young lord from the coast.

"Of course they are strange!" said Eomer. "Their morals are different, they fight differently, heck, they are from a world unlike ours! The one who is truly strange is Hoshi,"

Húrin nodded. "Aye. He is quite unlike most elves,"

Aragorn frowned. "That is because he is not an elf," he corrected a bit forcefully.

"Then explain the pointed ears," demanded Heledir, an older man clothed in bright robes.

"Birth defect,"

Everyone jumped simultaneously in shock. Aragorn whirled around to see Hoshi picking up the forgotten palantír.

"Good gracious, boy!" cried Gimli. "Let us know that you are in the room,"

Hoshi raised an eyebrow. "Gossip is for elderly crones, peasants and spies with nothing to do," he said, with a hint of a chiding tone in his voice. "You wanted to know why my ears are pointed and I gave you an answer: birth defect,"

"**An** answer, not **the** answer," Legolas replied in a sing-song voice, a mischievous grin on his face. "When are you going to give us **the** answer?"

Hoshi paused. "Maybe in six years," he said, suddenly flashing a grin, preparing to leave.

"Hoshi," said Aragorn. The boy stopped and turned around to face him.

"Yes, A-Aragorn?" he responded, looking a bit nervous. Suddenly the question he was going to ask fled his mind. Aragorn could not form any meaningful question.

"Would you put that palantír with its companion?" he asked, mentally wincing at the hastily formed sentence.

Hoshi gave him a brilliant smile. "I will do as you wish, my king," he said earnestly, with a small bow before departing from the room.

Releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding, Aragorn stood up, unwittingly allowing the rest of the lords to stand as well, and departed from the room without a word.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Rin yawned, covering her mouth with a roll of sorts. She had been up late discussing painkillers and effective methods of preventing Gangrene. Kuro was still asleep, having stayed up later because of his obsessive sanitation of the Houses of Healing. Breakfast was surprisingly peaceful. By midmorning everyone in this house would be gone except her and Hoshi, but nobody was rushing their breakfast.

"Hey Rin, can you pass the rolls please?" asked Merry, who's plate was already covered with berries, smoked fish, and a jam-smothered slice of bread. Rin unquestioningly passed the basket, and the hobbit gleefully took two. So far, only Minato-sensei, Kakashi, Gimli, Legolas, Pippin, Merry, Susano'o and Hoshi were at the already crowded breakfast table. Gandalf sat by the fire, gladly toasting bread and making tea for anyone who asked. Rin wondered when the old wizard ate breakfast. The table was in a comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional requests for something that was out of reach. The brunette looked down at her empty plate. She wanted some more berries, but Hoshi had claimed the entire bowl after everyone at the table had taken their share. Although Rin thought that it was unfair to deny anyone else who came down later any berries, the majority of the table agreed that it was perfectly fine for Hoshi to have the bowl. Kakashi had pointed out that they knew when breakfast was, and if they didn't come down by that time, the best food would have already been eaten anyway. It still felt a bit unfair, though. Anyway, it would not have done her a bit of good to ask Hoshi for a single berry. The kid had smothered the entire bowl in honey, added some fish, and cooked the thing. It was positively disgusting.

Rin was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of someone walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Strider!" greeted Pippin cheerfully as he took an empty chair next to Hoshi. "How was your sleep?"

"Nothing remarkable," replied the tired-looking man. Wordlessly, Kakashi passed a cup to Hoshi, who put it down in front of Aragorn, who looked at the drink, puzzled.

"Hot chocolate," explained the Hatake. "I found some cocoa powder and decided to make some. A bit out of season, but it has a little something that will wake you up,"

Susano'o laughed. "What, no coffee?" he said, eating a piece of watermelon that he had somehow brought along with him. It smelled suspiciously of alcohol.

Aragorn, who was lifting the cup to his lips, paused. "Coffee never agreed with me," he explained dryly.

The bandaged boy nodded sagely. "Ah, well, anything non-alcoholic tends to mess with my system,"

"That is a lie," said Hoshi smoothly, not even looking up from his food. "You drink water all the time and you do not get ill,"

Susano'o opened his mouth in protest and promptly closed it, a sulking look on his face.

"Well, you need to cut your hair," he grumbled.

Hoshi rolled his eyes and put down his empty bowl, clearly finished with his breakfast.

"I my appearance any of your business?" he asked. "And what does that have to do with your incorrect assumption anyway?"

The dark-skinned boy shrugged. "Eh, does it matter? I've got to do some last minute packing, so bye-bye,"

Susano'o shoved the slice of watermelon into his mouth and left. Hoshi still sat at the table, staring at Minato-sensei. The jōnin looked up and gave the pointy-eared boy an apologetic look.

"Sorry, but I haven't been able to contact Orochimaru. He still has your necklace,"

"I've gathered that," Hoshi grumbled, slouching in his seat.

"I thought you gave your necklace to those Suna nin," said Rin, confused.

"Ah, well, Konoha wanted to look at my necklace, so Minato-sensei retrieved it and sent it to Orochimaru," answered Hoshi a bit sourly. "It was done without my permission. While I am glad that I can get it back, I don't want it to get broken; which will happen if they look at it,"

Rin made a noise of agreement. Konoha's research department was not known for being very gentle with their subjects.

"Oh, you got your necklace back?" commented Anko, who had just taken Susano'o empty chair.

"No," he said shortly, passing a plate of ham to Kakashi, who handed it to Gimli.

Anko frowned slightly. "You know, I didn't see so much as a hair of yours yesterday afternoon," she said. "Where were you?"

Hoshi sighed through his nose. "I was in the old meeting hall on the first level, and when the meeting finished I went to the Blind Archer to give its cook a little lesson on food poisoning. I put the palantír of the Orthanc with its companion in the White Tower after that. The rest of the day was spent going through the King's Treasury, The Steward's Treasury, the Armory, and storage to find A-Aragorn some armor. Obito assisted me with that,"

Rin blinked. "Busy day, huh?" she commented.

"Yeah," agreed Obito, who was standing in the doorway, suppressing a yawn. "It is beyond difficult to find a matching set of armor that is Aragorn's size and not falling apart,"

The tall man was frowning at Hoshi. "You did not need to go out of your way to find me armor," he said, giving the boy a look.

"I believe I did," the genin answered, his eyes flicking to the side to look at the ranger. "You are to be the King, thus you must look the part. Your ranger garb is not going to cut it any longer. Besides, I needed numerous nobles' permission to go in those places, and all agreed that you needed better armor. I have it upstairs in a scroll,"

Aragorn seemed to have recognized that he had lost the battle and did not protest any further. Obito walked over to Hoshi and tapped him on the shoulder. The pale boy stood up, and gestured for the Uchiha to sit before walking to the door.

"Wait, Hoshi," called Rin. He stopped and turned to face her. "Meet me at the Houses of Healing after the army leaves, okay?"

The elf-like boy gave her a large smile and a nod before walking out of the door.

"Remind me what your rationale was for leaving the boy behind," grumbled Gimli, giving Minato-sensei a look.

The bright-haired jōnin sighed through his nose. "Hoshi needs a break from all the killing. I don't really like how he is becoming rather aggressive,"

Legolas shot the shinobi an incredulous look. "I thought that the shinobi like aggressiveness,"

"We're fine with it," commented Kakashi. "But are you cool with having an aggressive assassin?"

Rin blinked in surprise, her eyes momentarily flicking over to Aragorn, who was completely still.

"He has to go home eventually," continued Obito sadly. "Sooner or later his family will figure out where he is and want him back,"

Anko let out a snort of laughter. "Ha! He was such a mouse when I first met him. He still kind of is, neh?"

"So imagine the shock that will occur when somebody attempts to harm him," finished up Minato-sensei. "Hoshi isn't a murderer, but if someone presses his buttons hard enough he will snap. Eventually, in my experience, over time it takes less and less pressure to trigger something, until anything will cause him to snap,"

Aragorn looked over to Minato-sensei, his face stony. "Are you saying that he will go insane?" he asked flatly.

The jōnin shrugged. "It's too soon to tell. In a sense we shinobi are at fault. We enabled Hoshi in teaching him how to be a shinobi, and haven't really stressed taking the peaceful way out of things. In fact he seems to be becoming a fan of disproportion retribution,"

"Is that so?" Aragorn asked rhetorically, his voice suddenly sweet.

Obito suddenly put his hand up like he was back in the Academy. "Hey, Hoshi may have been mouse-like, but he is pretty emotional. I am thinking that his goal, albeit an unconscious one, is to either prevent something from ever occurring again beyond the shadow of a doubt, or to have it keep occurring. He can be pretty over-the-top,"

Rin nodded her assent. "In short, his strong emotions on things and a strange moral compass make him a bit of a liability that can be fixed. My job is to makes sure that he doesn't lose his marbles and possibly teach how to properly respond when angry. But I doubt that I would make a good teacher for that,"

"Hey, we're gossiping about Hoshi again, right?" said Kuro, waltzing into the kitchen. "He's pretty sane if you ask me,"

Anko rolled her eyes. "We were explaining why Hoshi is staying here instead of marching out with us,"

Kuro blinked. "So you are basing the choice on his mental stability?" he remarked, incredulous.

Kakashi nodded. "Your point is?"

"He's perfectly fine mentally!" snapped the long-haired Uchiha. "Odd, yes, but fine, especially considering other shinobi! If you are going to try and return his personality back to what might have been before he came to Konoha you are going to fail. He might not have killed anybody before this, but he would have eventually! Hoshi might shock his family, but we can't do anything about that sort of fallout. If you ask me, he is perfectly capable of dealing with it himself. Merri, can you pass the rolls please?"

‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡*‡

The gardens of the House of Healing provided a fantastic view of the vast plain before the city, and the mountainous border of Mordor off in the distance. A thin, black line marched northeast, made of enough feet to kick up a faint cloud of dust. Eowyn had a wistful look in her icy blue eyes, while Lothíriel appeared to be very worried.

"Will they come back, Rin?" she asked quietly. "My father and brothers I mean. Will they be fine?"

"They have been in battle before," Rin responded simply. "They will be fine,"

Eowyn was absolutely silent. The medic could hear a pin drop in the garden, if not for the faint crunching of gravel as two people, both light on their feet, walked closer to them.

"…and that is why I was looking for a job. Oh, hello ladies, and Rin,"

She and Lothíriel turned around to see Faramir and Hoshi standing on the gravel path behind them.

"Good morning!" greeted the olive-skinned healer.

"Indeed, it is a good morning," Faramir remarked softly, looking up at the clear blue sky, then over to Eowyn. The Shieldmaiden continued to stare after the army, which had finally cleared the walls of Minas Tirith. Hoshi sighed, and quickly leapt onto the wall before Eowyn, blocking her view. A small crease in her brow indicated that she had noticed the genin's actions, even if she didn't blink.

"Would you mind moving out of my view?" she requested coldly. Hoshi crossed his arms.

"It will be there tomorrow, my lady. Why not talk to others instead?" he said gently. "The Anduin may roar, murmur or gurgle, but it does not speak. The mountains and plains do not talk, so why do they hold your interest so?"

The blonde gave him a hard glare. "Did your parents ever teach you to respect your elders?"

"Were you ever told to let go of things nobody can ever change?" Hoshi challenged. They stared each other down until Faramir intervened.

"Leave her be, Hoshi," he said sadly. The pale boy huffed, but jumped off the wall, shooting Eowyn a look. The White Lady glared back at him.

"So you listen to men only," she said coldly.

"I break my father's rules. The Valar help me if I break my mother's," he said, suddenly sighing and looking contrite. "I am sorry for doing that, my lady. I should have just asked if all of you wanted to walk with us,"

Rin knew what game Hoshi was playing. The adopted Uchiha had recruited her, and carefully explained why he was matchmaking. For one reason or another Hoshi had informed Lothíriel of his plan; the healer's delight in the idea surprised her. The plan was to have the two alone together as much as possible, and encourage any good feelings they had. Looking at Faramir, Rin could see an obvious interest and a growing affection for Eowyn in the man's behavior. So she reached out and grabbed the tip of Hoshi's ear and dragged him off.

"Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" he cried, not even attempting to struggle.

"Sorry about that, Eowyn," she apologized, pulling him in the direction he came from. "But it seems that Hoshi forgot the manners his parents taught him,"

When they were out of eyesight and earshot, Rin released her teammate's ear. Hoshi immediately began to massage it, his grey eyes watery.

"That hurt," he whispered sadly. Any annoyance she felt dissolved as he looked at her like a kicked puppy.

"You didn't need to annoy and disregard Eowyn's requests to ask her on a walk," Rin said gently, but added a firm undertone. "You could have simply asked,"

Hoshi nodded, blinking away the extra moisture. "True," he murmured. "But that got rid of two annoying kids.

The medic raised an eyebrow. "How about only one annoying kid?"

The pale boy laughed. "Very funny, Rin. But I have to finish some business with Faramir. I need a paying job, because I am running low on coins and we need food and other supplies. Nobody else is going to supply us now,"

"So you want to work with Faramir?" she asked, walking down the path with Hoshi.

"More or less," he answered, running a hand through his longer than usual hair. "I am heir to my father's position, so it would be beneficial of me to learn how things operate in Gondor. Helping Faramir clean up Minas Tirith, organize stores and deal with the other lords should be a learning experience, no?"

Rin nodded mutely, as they had finally caught up to Faramir, Eowyn and Lothíriel. The dark-haired healer was doing most of the talking, as she stood between the other two like some sort of interpreter. Before the two genin could join them, Ioreth appeared from the edge of the courtyard and put her hands on her hips.

"Lothíriel! Have you forgotten about your other patients?" the older woman declared. The younger healer blushed, whispered her farewells and left with Ioreth.

"Come, Hoshi," whispered Rin, taking her teammate's sleeve. "You can talk to Faramir later,"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Eowyn was not sure if she liked being left alone with the Steward's son. It was not that she feared being taken advantage of, or that he was bad company. No, with a keen mind, an open ear, and very appealing features, Faramir was very good company. So why did she feel so uneasy?

"Do you like the gardens?" he asked softly, breaking the silence that had formed after his cousin's departure.

"Yes," she answered, beginning to walk forward. "We had gardens in Meduseld and I used to assist the gardener. But after my uncle became ill I had less and less time to work with the plants. Then _he_ banned me from the gardens. The poor gardener was old and had recently died, so the whole garden is overgrown by weeds,"

Eowyn could not believe that she was telling him this. Faramir was practically a stranger. But oddly, enough, she just knew that she could trust him to keep her secrets.

"That is a deep shame," Faramir said. "How could your uncle take away something that made you happy?"

"It was not my uncle who banned me from the gardens," she blurted out. He paused for a second, giving her a confused look.

"It was one of my uncle's advisors," Eowyn clarified, feeling her face flush a little. "That worm wanted power, not only over my uncle and Rohan, but me too. So he tried to take away things that made me happy, in order to break my will. He was able to take away my plants, but he couldn't take away my sword," she finished proudly.

Faramir smiled. "Indeed. I have found that it is difficult for one to feel powerless if one can use a weapon. Not many women, if any, learn how to fight in Gondor,"

Eowyn nodded in agreement. "Aye. But the women of Rohan often learn to use the sword or the bow. Safety is not guaranteed because of your gender,"

He nodded solemnly, any happiness quickly fleeing from his face. He did not offer anything to continue the topic, which piqued her curiosity.

"Where did you fight?" she asked.

"Ithilien," he answered quietly. "I was captain of the rangers there," Faramir's face was turned away from her, hidden by a curtain of dark blonde hair. She idly thought that his hair appeared to be darker than when she last saw it.

"It is a beautiful land," he continued, a wistful note in his mournful tone. "Ithilien was one called the fairest country in all of the westlands, but the shadow of Mordor has hidden most of that beauty. With all of its flowers and trees, one could very well call it the garden of Gondor,"

Eowyn felt badly for uncovering a sad subject; she desperately wanted Faramir to smile again.

"So you are going to tame that garden when Mordor falls?" she asked timidly.

He turned to face her with a surprisingly maudlin grin on his face. "Only if I have a fellow gardener,"

She felt her face flame up, and she immediately looked away from his warm gaze.

"_Why am I so coy?"_ Eowyn thought, confused. _"It is not as if he was referring to me,"_

A loud crunching sound caused them both to look up. Behind them stood Rin and Hoshi; Hoshi was braiding Rin's hair while the brunette was eating something. Out of the corner of her eye Eowyn saw Faramir blush red with embarrassment.

"Good job Rin," Hoshi said, not even looking up from the interesting braid. "You ruined the moment,"

"Hey! I wanted to eat and you told me not to move," she shot back, attempting to glare at someone she couldn't see.

"May I point out that you asked me to braid your hair in a difficult style which is easier to do with longer, wavier hair," commented Hoshi. He finally looked up and gave the two of them a sheepish grin.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, looking genuinely contrite.

"It is alright," Faramir accepted kindly, still looking mildly embarrassed. "Are you still looking for employment?"

Hoshi nodded, dividing his attention between Rin's hair and Faramir.

"How does the idea of being my page sound?"

The boy's grey eyes lit up. "I am beyond honored!" he cried, giving Faramir an awkward bow. "A thousand thanks, my lord!"

Eowyn cracked a smile at the child's enthusiasm. "If that job does not suit you, then you could do my hair in the mornings," she half-jokingly proposed.

Hoshi laughed, finishing off Rin's braid and securing it with a colorful piece of string. Rin turn to look at Eowyn, and a smile crossed her face.

"You cut your hair!" she cried, surprised. "Why did it take me so long to notice?"

"Maybe it is because she is so pretty it does not make a difference, right Faramir?" said Hoshi, shooting the Steward's son a knowing look. Eowyn felt herself flush again when Faramir shyly nodded in agreement, turning red as well.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Come on you sweet-talker," she said, grabbing Hoshi's shoulder, preparing to drag him off

"Wait!" he cried to Rin, before turning back to Faramir. "When would you like me to start?"

"Tomorrow morning, seven o'clock sharp, meet me outside the Houses of Healing,"

The pale boy nodded seriously. "Yes, my lord, and thank you!" he cried before Rin dragged him off, leaving the two of them along again.

"Do you mind continuing our walk?" Faramir shyly suggested, only barely meeting her gaze.

Eowyn could only nod, but thought:

"_Yes, I would like that very much,"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>**:**

**Happy Holidays to you all! I believe I have told a couple of you that this story would be done by chapter 30. Well, look at what chapter this is! Is this getting too long to stomach? I only have a few more major events to hit before I enter ending territory, so should I try to condense things? I hope this is a decent present, and that all of you had a happy holiday!**

**Please, for the love of reading, review! Thanks!**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN****:**

**Thank you mistyfoxmaid and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you to all who have liked and followed any of my work!**

**Thank you all for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Minato hummed as he finished re-inking an explosive tag with three strokes of a brush. Glad that it seemed to finally work, the yellow-haired man placed the tag on the cave floor. Only for the paper to dissolve with a gooey hiss seconds later. The jōnin groaned in exasperation, fed up with the waste of supplies and constant failures. Minato was bored out of his skull. It took two days to get to Cirith Ungol; one with the army, the other sneaking around patrols and dying soldiers from Mordor. Killing the giant spider Shelob took a day, and cleaning out the cave took another day. Thus on the fifth day, Minato was beginning to come at a loss as to how to entertain himself. "Visiting" Minas Morgul was an option, but the occasional blood-curling shriek emanating from the dead city informed the jōnin that the remaining eight Ringwraiths were home, and probably not willing to share a cup of sugar with their new neighbor. Making new tags with the orc blood had worked, until they <em>didn't<em>. While the _oni_ blood worked on his seals for _Hiraishin_, for explosive tags they either went up in flames or dissolved into a puddle of goo. Minato looked over to the covered palantír on the other side of him. It was glowing underneath the gnarled brown cloth; its light fading in and out, beckoning him. The yellow-haired jōnin sighed, and picked up the palantír.

"I guess it is better for me to risk insanity via a demonic being rather than insanity through boredom," he muttered. Without taking a second to rethink it, Minato removed the cloth.

"Hello Sensei," said Hoshi respectfully. The pale boy was at a desk that was covered in papers and a quill in his hand. His face and hands had smears of black ink, and dark rings sat underneath tired, grey eyes. He was so pale that a faint spray of freckles was just visible across the top of his nose.

"How is your hostess?" queried his student, a small smirk appearing on Hoshi's face.

"Dead," Minato answered shortly. "Cleaning her lair only took a day's work,"

The adopted Uchiha looked relived. "Glad that you killed her," he said. "Shelob's kind are a step beyond nasty,"

The jōnin nodded in agreement, peering curiously at the piles of paper, and the scattered stubs of candles surrounding his student. "What are you doing?"

"I begged Lord Faramir for a job, so he made me his page," Hoshi said while picking up a piece of paper. His eyes flicked over it before he discarded the paper into one of the piles. "Right now he is having me sort all the papers, first by importance, then by category; Justice, Tax and Revenue, Defense, Diplomacy, Guilds, Internal Affairs, and Miscellaneous," he said, pointing to each pile with a quill as he named them. "I started to get underfoot during meetings, so basically everyone agreed that having me sort these out was preferable. I haven't seen the sky for a day,"

Minato winced. "I think that is more paperwork than the Hokage's,"

"All in Westron too!" Hoshi moaned, dropping his head onto the desk.

The yellow-haired man sighed, allowing the boy to mope a second longer before asking him a question.

"Hoshi, why did you call me?"

The lanky genin slowly sat up, his eyes hooded. "I can't really remember. It had to do with Yuu, though,"

Minato was surprised. "Whatever happened to Yuu anyway?" he asked, curious.

Hoshi shrugged, a pained look on his face. "I don't know," he said softly. "I left his corpse on the side of the road to rot,"

The jōnin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. _"Orochimaru and the Research Department are not going to be pleased,"_ he though. Aloud, he said:

"You were supposed to collect Yuu's body so Research could study it,"

A look of deep disgust crossed Hoshi's pale face. "That actually happens?" he whispered in shock. "I thought Susano'o was pulling my leg,"

Minato rolled his eyes at the genin's squeamishness. "Can you at least find the corpse and send it to me?" he asked gently.

The dark-haired boy shook his head. "Lost it, _he has it now__,_"

Minato blinked, taken aback by surprise. "Sorry, but who has it?"

"_He has a new plaything now, poor Yuu__," _Hoshi muttered without the slightest ounce of sympathy. _"__Fortunately for us, corpses move quite slowly__,"_

Minato was beginning to get irritated. "Hoshi, who has Yuu's body?" he snapped.

A too-large grin slowly spread across the genin's pale, spotted face. _"__You know him, Sensei. The Necromancer__,"_

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Kakashi hummed as he slid down into surprisingly clear and warm pond-water. They had been on the march for roughly five days and the only exciting thing that occurred was burning a poisonous vale. It had finally gotten to the point that the Hatake was unwilling to tolerate another nanosecond without taking a bath. Fortunately, the two Uchihas, Anko, and that pain-in-the-neck Susano'o had agreed with him. The pond was rather far from the army; such a large number of people and animals that Kakashi figured that they would not be missed. Kuro was already scrubbing his long hair with a bar of strange pink soap, and Susano'o blasted Obito with some water technique.

"_It's nice to feel clean again"_ thought Kakashi, briefly removing his towel-mask and diving underwater. He slowly lost track of time, scrubbing, provoking a water-fight, even catching a fish.

"Look," mumbled Obito, floating on his back, looking up at the sun. "It's high noon right now,"

Susano'o blinked, trying to get a clear view of the sky from his upside-down perch on a tree branch.

"We came here in, what, late morning?" he asked, a frown on his face. "Should we head back?"

Kakashi thought about it. "Do they need us?" he asked.

At that moment, the faint, but distinctive sound of a Rohirric horn entered his ear. And it wasn't the sound of greeting.

"Apparently, yes!" cried Obito, shooting out of the water, snatching up his clothes and pulling them on as he ran off. The Hatake did not waste a second getting out of the pond, but he did take the time to seal his toiletries into a scroll and at least put his underclothes, pants, and weapons on. The shirt could wait. Susano'o was already running past him, only wearing his steel-grey _happi_ and…fish-patterned boxers. Kakashi rolled his eyes, and quickly followed the bandaged shinobi into the trees. His wet hair stuck to his face as he tried to tie his headband on. Annoyed, he pulled on his shirt, getting it stuck on his head and subsequently missing the next tree completely and hitting the ground.

"_Maybe that wasn't the most brilliant idea that I have ever had,"_ the chūnin thought sardonically, fixing his shirt, and shaking his head, feeling a bit disoriented. Not wanting to waste any more time, Kakashi returned to the trees, speeding toward the dying sounds of battle. He flew through the trees until he reached a large clearing, in which a road ran through the middle. The column of the army had guarded their spot on the road incredibly well. The foot soldiers had their shields facing outward as archers picked off the few orcs and savage-looking men. The mounted riders had dismounted and protected their horses. Looking around the clearing Kakashi could see evidence of _Katon _and _Suiton_ _jutsu_, provided by scorched trees and a plentiful amount of mud. Obito and Susano'o were up in a large pine tree, lazily tossing shuriken at the two wild men left standing. Kuro and Anko were nowhere to be seen. With a small sigh, the Hatake joined his comrades.

"Hello Kakashi, fancy meeting you here," chirped Susano'o as he pulled his mail shirt on. Obito lacked both his shirts and customary jacket, but, amazingly, his entire low half was clothed, sandals and all.

The chūnin rolled his eyes and looked below, noticing something different.

"Who are the people in the grey cloaks?" he asked quietly, his eyes following two of them as they walked over to Aragorn.

"Dunno," Obito remarked, his voice muffled as he donned his blue shirt. "They seem familiar, though,"

Kakashi frowned. As familiar as the thirty-odd newcomers seemed, he did not trust them. The chūnin briefly glimpsed over to his decently dressed teammates.

"Let's go down and greet them," Kakashi proposed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Susano'o and Obito nod, before he jumped out of the tree and darted over to Aragorn. The two grey-clad newcomers flinched in surprise when the silver-haired shinobi appeared in front of them. Aragorn merely looked over and down to see the chūnin.

"There you are, Kakashi," he greeted. "Where are your teammates?"

The chūnin looked over his shoulder to see that Susano'o was fetching his backpack from Legolas'/ Gimli's horse. Obito was impatiently waiting for the dark-skinned boy to hurry up and walk over.

"Two of them are accounted for," replied Kakashi. "But I do not know where Anko and Kuro went,"

"Estel, who are these children?" whispered one of the two newcomers, clad in dark grey. The Hatake finally took a second to look them over. The newcomers were dark-haired, male elves, with light grey eyes and identical in every way except in the shade of grey in their cloaks.

"Children?!" cried Susano'o in mock offense. The bandaged boy was rifling through his backpack, clearly looking for something.

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "You two are most definitely children," he stated aloofly. Obito, who was picking up the bits of Susano'o debris, snorted.

"You aren't an adult, either," he remarked. "You don't drink, you don't gamble, and you don't like girls,"

"What does liking girls have to do with it?" asked the chūnin incredulously.

"I don't know," the Uchiha responded with a shrug. "It's just how my dad defined an adult. They drink, gamble and like girls,"

"Sounds just like my mom," grumbled Susano'o, yanking out what looked like a photo, and scowling at the picture.

Aragorn cleared his throat, an annoyed look on his face. "Elladan, these are the shinobi. You have already met Minato. Kakashi," he gestured to the silver-haired boy. "is in charge of the group here,"

"Second in command?" the other, clad in light grey, wryly commented.

"Fourth," the Hatake corrected dryly. "The chain of command goes from me, to Minato-sensei, to Orochimaru-sama, and finally to Uchiha Hoshi,"

"Eh!?" cried Susano'o, a dismayed look on his face. "Hoshi is our superior?"

Kakashi brought the heel of his palm to his forehead. "Do I need to answer you?"

Obito was bristling with anger. "What's wrong with him leading the mission?" he snarled.

The bandaged boy flinched. "Eh, well, he's a tad, um, unpredictable?"

"Argue later," snapped the Hatake, annoyed. "You two are being unprofessional," A scowl hidden under his mask, Kakashi turned to apologize to Aragorn, Elladan, and his twin.

The two elves were not even paying attention to the shinobi. Instead, they were berating the Ranger in sharp-tongued elvish.

"_You hired child soldiers?! What happened to your morals, Estel? What possessed you to do such a thing__?" _cried the one clad in light grey.

"_Peace, brother__,"_ Aragorn soothed, an apologetic look on his face. _"__We encountered them in the Mines of Moria, and they insisted on offering their services. The children are not as childlike as you would like to think__,"_

"_You still are permitting children to fight for you__,"_ replied Elladan, a sour look on his face.

Kakashi felt rather awkward as he eavesdropped on the argument. He looked over to Obito, who looked back at him, rubbing the back of his neck.

_*"What do we do?"* _he mouthed, confused.

The Hatake shrugged helplessly. _*"I do not think that we should interfere,"*_ he answered. The teammates turned to Susano'o, wanting a third opinion

_*"DieDieDieDieDieDieDIE!"*_

The bandaged boy was clearly engrossed in violently ripping apart a notebook that had come from the depths of his backpack. The Gondorians and the grey-cloaks looked rather unnerved, and slowly moved away from them. Kakashi sighed, feeling defeated.

"_I am surprised that we have not been branded as lunatics yet," _he mentally bemoaned. Surprisingly, one person completely ignored Susano'o. A tall, grey-clad man with a spear walked toward them, whistling, and clearly lost in his own world. He looked similar to Aragorn; they both had dark, wavy hair and grey eyes. The tall man came to a stop beside Susano'o and looked down at the ground. Still whistling, he bent over and picked something up.

"_What a detailed picture__!" _the man declared, a giant smile crossing his face. The twins and Aragorn stopped their bickering to look over at the new arrival. Susano'o stopped shredding the notebook, a confused look on his face.

"_Did you make this__?"_ the man asked Susano'o. The dark-skinned shinobi looked very confused.

"Sorry, I can't understand you," he said politely. Obito, who had sidled over to look at the picture, gasped in shock.

"How did you save that picture?" he cried, turning toward the bandaged genin. Curious, the chūnin joined his teammate.

"_Just as I suspected,"_ he thought.

It was a picture of Hoshi's enraged face as he aimed a bow and arrow at the camera. The photo was in black and white, and the tip of the arrow was right up against the lens in a dark smudge on the left. Kakashi remembered the day quite well. ANBU was quite insistent on getting a photo for the foreigner's profile, and Hoshi was equally determined not to be photographed. Hoshi had proven his thieving abilities when every copy of that picture mysteriously disappeared the following day. Bar this one, which had survived, forgotten, in Susano'o possession.

"Huh, I forgot he had freckles," remarked Susano'o.

"Hoshi has freckles?" Aragorn asked, surprised, as he peered over Obito's head.

"Yep, but you only see them if you get really close to his face now," commented the Uchiha as the elf twins looked over the tall man's shoulder. "They were much more noticeable when we first met him ten months ago,"

Kakashi looked over at Elladan, who looked vaguely stunned. His eyes glazed as he stared at the photo, and the dark-haired elf started to grind his teeth, a look of controlled fury blooming across his face. His brother did not even waste time being stunned.

"Explain, Estel!" he roared, startling a several soldiers and horses.

"I do not think that Estel should be the one explaining, Elrohir," Elladan ground out, suddenly looking Kakashi in the eye.

The Hatake was hit by a wave of killer intent, and was surprised to feel himself imperceptibly shudder. However, he was infinitely more offended than scared.

"We did not kidnap and enslave him, if that is what you are thinking," he said politely and coolly.

"And he is not an elfling," added Susano'o calmly, peering at the elves out of the corner of his eyes as he loosened his bandages. "In fact, if you want to annoy him, call him an elfling,"

"_He certainly looks like an elfling, not that I have ever seen one__," _commented the grey-clad newcomer.

_*"I guess elves don't reproduce often, neh?"*_ Susano'o commented in a stage whisper, his eyebrows waggling to emphasize his meaning. Obito huffed, and shot the bandaged boy a glare. Kakashi merely buried his head into his hand, and released a long-suffering sigh.

"I was not planning on asking the shinobi anything!" Elrohir snapped. "All I want is for Estel to explain!"

"What do you want me to explain?" asked Aragorn, a thoroughly irritated look on his face.

The elf was slowly turning red with anger. "This!" he yelled, gesturing wildly at the grey-clad man.

The ranger raised an incredulous eyebrow. "You want me to explain Halbarad?"

"No!" cried Elrohir. "Explain HOSHI!"

The clearing went absolutely silent. Kakashi gladly listened to the bird-song as Aragorn slowly absorbed the underlying meaning of his foster brother's words. Obito seemed to have caught the elf's drift very early on, and was looking very worried.

"Such trivial matters can be discussed later," said Gandalf in a commanding voice. The White wizard approached the group on Shadowfax with a displeased look on his face. "Right now we have to keep moving,"

Something about the old man's demeanor worried Kakashi. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Yeah, it better be a good reason!" added Obito. "Anko and Kuro still haven't returned,"

"We looked for them," replied Pippin, poking his head out from behind Gandalf. He looked very pale. "Merry, Legolas, Gimli and I. It is…hard to describe what we found…I mean, you wouldn't believe me!"

"They aren't dead," said Susano'o coldly, a steely look on his face.

Gandalf shook his head. "I know not. But I have recently received a letter from Hoshi,"

Aragorn frowned, a worried look on his face. Kakashi could hear hoof beats, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Imrahil, one of his sons, Eomer, and Forlong join them.

"According to him, we may be dealing with—"

A sudden snapping of branches in the woods across the clearing interrupted him. Kakashi whipped around, and tensed, reaching for a weapon.

Kuro and Anko burst out of the underbrush, covered in leaves, twigs, and gore, and screaming at the top of their lungs.

"MOTHERF-ING ZOMBIES!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>**:**

**I was gone for at least a month, and all I can come up with is a 2,875 (give or take) word chapter. Wonderful. As you can see, I am almost running low on fuel to finish this story. Reviewing and showing that you care about this story on some microscopic level helps tremendously. Thank you for tolerating my windging and for reading this story.  
><strong>


	32. Chapter 32

**AN****:**

**Thank you to Zach of Death, DreamingIn2Eternity, Flufflover, Regin, and mistyfoxmaid for reviewing! Thank you to those who have followed and favorited my stories. I am truly grateful for your continued interest and support. I am sorry for not being to update more frequently, but life happens.**

**Thank you all for everything, and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Legolas was scared. He knew that his fear was not obvious, if only because the combined terror of every person present masked his personal fright. The archer was glad to see that Anko and Kuro were safe; but he was not so delighted to learn that groaning, murderous corpses present in the woods were not a product of a stressed imagination. The elf kept looking toward the forest as the army marched toward the Morannon, and intently listened to Anko's description of "zombies".<p>

"Zombies," she told the crowd of captains, lords and friends. "Are corpses that have been charmed to do the bidding of the one who raised them. Oh, there are others ways to make a zombie!" the girl snapped quickly when Kuro inhaled sharply to add something. "But, Gandalf-jiisama mentioned a necromancer, so it has to be the way I mentioned,"

Legolas briefly glanced toward the woods_. "Nothing is moving out there"_ he thought with a touch of relief.

"Wait, so if they weren't created by disease, does that mean that you won't turn into a zombie if they bite you?" asked Obito, sounding very relieved.

"Uh…" Anko stalled, clearly searching for the correct answer. The tension in the surrounding area rapidly increased.

"No, but you still don't want them biting you anyway," answered Kuro, who was wiping the gore off his body.

Obito, Anko, Susano'o and even Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

_*"Thank God!"*_ declared Obito, visibly relaxing. They continued on in a vigilant silence, which frayed Legolas' nerves even more.

"Kuro," said Mithrandir. The sudden break in the quiet caused the elf the jump slightly, annoying both his horse and Gimli.

"Do you know what corpses where used to make theses "zombies"?" asked the Istari.

The long-haired boy sighed, looking a bit distressed. "Well, of the humans, there were an awful lot of children that were clearly killed recently. Those were Easterlings. Almost all the adult zombies were Rohirrim, and some even had their horses. The nastiest thing was they all seemed to be vaguely conscious,"

Eomer looked furious. "How dare he," he snarled to no one in particular.

The shinobi all nodded solemnly. "Yeah, let the dead rest!" agreed Kuro. "If it is any consolation, they were not very easy to take down, even though they were rotting corpses. Hey Merry, did they stay down?"

The hobbit nodded. "More or less," he answered with a shudder. Legolas shuddered as well, remembering the blackberry copse filled with twitching limbs and splattered guts.

Halbarad, Aragorn's cousin, frowned. "You only said the human ones. What were the other ones?"

"Oh, there were dwarves, sort of," answered Obito's cousin. "They weren't really the actual corpses so much as animated statues of dwarves. They all had the same thing written on their foreheads, though…"

Gimli gasped. "How did Sauron learn this?" he cried, shocked.

"Learn what?" asked Legolas, a tad sharper than necessary

"I cannot tell you," the dwarf answered strongly, stubbornness filling his voice.

"Why not?" asked Kakashi, an interested look on his face.

"_Actually, all the foreigners look a bit too eager to know about "this","_ noted the elf, a bit worried.

"Let the dwarves keep their secrets," chided Mithrandir. "Your people have their own,"

The shinobi grumbled, but left Gimli alone. The conversation lulled, allowing everyone to digest the information given.

"So," Forlong said, breaking the silence. "There are human and dwarf "zombies", but you killed them off. Is there anything else to worry about? Any resurrected orcs, goblins, trolls…elves?"

Legolas did not know it was possible for him to sit up straighter. Elrond's twin sons also stiffened, and turned to face Kuro.

"No orcs, no goblins, and no trolls. I am NOT going to talk about those fiends," the boy said firmly.

"So there are elves," Aragorn commented, a neutral expression on his face.

"Please, can we not discuss them?" pleaded Anko. "My prospective nightmares are already going to be bad enough,"

Susano'o looked confused. "What the hell is so bad about them?"

"You'll see," she said with a shudder. "You'll see,"

Kakashi released a dry laugh. "I am going to sleep well tonight," he remarked sarcastically.

"_As are the rest of us,"_ thought Legolas, looking back toward the forest. The sun was slowly slinking down toward the horizon, and a chilly wind whistled through the trees. His nerves may have finally got to him, but Legolas was confident that the rustling in the brush was not from the wind.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Minato was less than pleased to be spending the skin-crawling nighttime awake. The palantír's glow was giving him a headache, but he was pleased to see Jiraiya-sensei, and Kushina-chan. Orochimaru was less than pleased to see any of them.

"Let's make this quick," the Snake Sannin grumbled, taking his place on the seal. Sam and Frodo, both looking healthy and vaguely stunned (for one unknown reason or another), were already on their designated spots.

"Okay, here we go!" declared Kushina, putting her hands into the rat seal, and then speeding through the technique. A light began to shine out of the seals, engulfed the trio, and sucked them into the scroll with a flash. Kushina removed her hands from their seal, picked up the scroll, and furled it.

"My work here is done," she said cheerfully. "I have to go now. Minato-kun, take care, and tell everyone that I say hi!"

"Goodbye Kushina-chan," he replied, trying and failing to keep the wistfulness out of his voice as he watched her walk out of sight. Jiraiya-sensei cleared his throat, attempting to recapture Minato's attention. The jōnin glared at his smirking sensei.

Jiraiya-sensei put his hands up in a pacifying gesture. "At ease, Minato. Your affection is so obvious that the blind can see it. Now, let's get Orochi and company to Mordor,"

With the nonchalance of an experienced shinobi, the pervert extraordinaire summoned a fair-sized yellow toad. After a few whispered words, the toad's long tongue shot out and the scroll vanished into the amphibian's large mouth. Seconds later, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Take care, Minato," Jiraiya-sensei said cheerfully before breaking the connection. The yellow-haired jōnin closed off his end, and stood up with a sigh. Minato bit his thumb, and began to weave the seals as he felt blood trickle down the digit. Feeling the chakra finally mold itself in its desired shape, Minato placed his palm onto the floor. When the smoke cleared, the jōnin was relieved to see the yellow toad, sitting apathetically in front of him. With a soft croak, the amphibian regurgitated the scroll with enough force so send it flying. The Yellow Flash was not entirely pleased to have a slimy scroll hit him in the forehead.

"Thank you," he grumbled to the toad, just before it vanished home. Gingerly picking up the gross object, Minato peeled the scroll apart until he reached the seals. He placed the slowly drying object on the ground, and quickly released the three seals. The two hobbits collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Orochimaru, his face flushed blue, was coughing so strongly that Minato half expected him to eject his lungs.

"Idiot! Why did you take so long?" gasped the older man.

"Sorry," he apologized.

The Snake Sannin waved him off. "Go meet up with the main forces, and inform them of your success. We will move in the morning,"

"Wait a minute," cried Minato, incredulous. "You seriously want me to catch up with the army at this time of night?"

"You cannot use _Hiraishin_?" asked the serpentine man with an uncaring yawn.

"I haven't tagged any other of my students, or any of yours. Also, the range is too far," the Yellow Flash explained, irritated.

"Ah, but do you know where they are?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then go! What are you so nervous of? _Yokai? Yūrei?"_

Minato was finally aware that he had lost the battle. Orochimaru clearly wanted him off.

"Fine, but let me gather my things," he grumbled.

The Sannin nodded, walking off. Frodo and Sam shot him pitying looks. As he walked off, he heard the two hobbits wish him farewell.

"Take care!" they cried.

Minato turned around and waved goodbye to them. "Good luck and success for your mission!" he cried, putting all his good faith in the wish. Then he gathered all his good thoughts, and went off into the terrifying dark.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Merry was awakened by the noise of neighing horses. It was early morning, and the few embers left by fires did little to illuminate his surroundings. Still, sitting up, Merry was able to pick out Legolas' horse shying away from someone. Curious, the Bradybuck stood up and crept closer for a look. He walked past men who were awake and watching the horse, hidden behind the brushes or tents, with dumbstruck looks on their faces. None of them seemed to notice the hobbit as he snuck past them. The area around the horse was more or less abandoned, with a healthy fire still burning in its pit. Just as he was a couple steps away from the horse, he was grabbed from behind, and dragged through a shrub. Merry's scream was covered by a large hand. He twisted around to see his captor, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Eomer.

"Look quietly, and do not disturb them," whispered the Horse-lord, loosening his grip on the hobbit. Merry nodded in understanding and followed Eomer's gaze, peering through the leaves. What he saw made his stomach roil. A tall, white-skinned, rotting, elf-like…thing held the reins of Legolas' steed in its bony, worm-riddled hands while making gentle gurgling noises out of a ripped apart throat. Another with a completely exposed chest and torso was trying to reach into a saddlebag, and it made a whining noise whenever the horse shied away. Both walking corpses had pale yellow eyes, wore rotten clothing, and were crawling with maggots. On top of all that they stank to the high heavens. In spite of all the decay, their hair was fairly clean, and simply braided. Merry continued to watch the two interact with a sort of entertained revulsion. His ears picked up the incredibly light footfalls of a ranger. The hobbit turned around to see Aragorn and one of Elrond's sons, (Elrohir, he thought), arrive.

"Your messenger alerted us to a murder," said Aragorn, clearly not noticing the "zombies"

Eomer nodded grimly. "The dead elves have shown up, and are bothering Hasufel. They have killed anyone who has approached, talked to, or otherwise disturbed them,"

The man and elf finally noticed the "zombies". Aragorn's face blanched as a look of horrified disgust crossed his features. Poor Elrohir sat down on the ground, hard; just beyond shocked.

"Were Imrahil and Forlong notified?" asked the ranger, running a hand over his face.

"Yes," Eomer affirmed with a nod. "I sent someone to notify Gandalf and wake up Kakashi,"

The sound of rapidly paced footfalls and heavy breathing heralded another arrival.

"I assume that you are your father's messenger, Amrothos," greeted Aragorn with a small smile.

The young man nodded, out of breath. "I…did my best… to arrive here… undetected… by those things," he responded.

"There are more?" asked Eomer, a horrified look on his face.

"Yes," Amrothos answered, clearly scared. "A couple was sniffing around, and killed some of the men on watch. They seemed to be looking for something,"

"What is looking for what?"

The group looked over to see Pippin, Gandalf, Susano'o and Kakashi carefully approach them. Pippin, looking half-asleep, was the one who asked the question.

"Elf "zombies"," answered Merry, looking over to the two things. The corpses had moved away from the horse and relaxed into a crouch, leaning onto their knuckles. They were staring into each other's yellow eyes, clearly communicating.

"How many men were killed?" asked Kakashi, watching the "zombies"

"Four men at our end of the camp," answered Amrothos.

"Only one guard here," added Eomer, looking displeased.

Gandalf frowned, a troubled look clouding his face. Susano'o remained silent, watching the corpses. Merry's keen ears picked up a shuffling noise coming from the woods. Looking into the darkness, he saw a female zombie, missing its left foot, crawl on all fours to the other two near the horse. It stopped and affectionately pressed its forehead against the forehead of the one with the ruined throat, making a cooing sound. The male made a noise similar to a purr, and nuzzled the female's nose.

"What are they doing?" Kakashi whispered, a confused look on his face.

"Well, it appears that these two are husband and wife," Merry explained quietly, before glancing back at the group behind him. Gandalf had Aragorn, Eomer and Amrothos put their heads together to come up with a plan to get rid of the "zombies". The Bradybuck caught snippets of Pippin's plan, which was a trap that consisted of lembas bread bait, and a quick assassin. Gandalf shot the idea down and moved on. Elrohir still appeared to be in shock, and was not contributing to the ideas circle.

"What on earth?!" hissed Kakashi in shock. Merry returned his attention to the corpse elves, and immediately wished he hadn't. The decaying couple was kissing, and not in the most chaste manner. The other male elf looked decidedly uncomfortable, as did the two shinobi.

"I guess elvish marriage isn't " 'till death do us part"," commented Susano'o quietly, a queasy look on his face.

Elrohir, more or less recovered, joined Merry in watching the nuzzling "zombies". The hobbit was almost positive that it was not right to be witnessing this level of affection between two corpses. The other male "zombie" crawled off into the darkness, leaving the increasingly affectionate couple. Merry was keenly aware that he, Elrohir, Kakashi, and Susano'o were watching something that should be never be witnessed by anyone, ever. The undead couple had bypassed simplistic kisses for a full-on snogging. Elrohir and the two foreign children were gaping at the scene with horrified fascination. The Bradybuck glanced behind him. Eomer, Aragorn, Gandalf and Amrothos were deep in discussion, oblivious to the scene behind them. Pippin was fast asleep. Hoping that his prankster's luck would be with him, Merry crept out of the bushes and approached the couple.

"Excuse me," he said timidly.

The two zombies shot apart, staring at the hobbit with their unblinking, yellow eyes.

Merry began to tremble slightly under their gaze. "Um, a couple of curious children were…er, watching you…I thought I might, um, ask you to...uh…not do… anything,"

The female had drifted back toward her husband, and was now petting the male corpse's long hair.

"_**It matters not if they watch. If they do, then they will learn a useful skill,"**_whispered a female voice in the back of his skull. Merry shuddered, then gaped at them.

"You are serious?" he cried, incredulous.

The two corpses gave him a look. _**"If you do not like it, then avert your eyes,"**_ responded the male.

The Bradybuck stood there, dumbstruck.

"Thank you for trying, Merry," said Kakashi sympathetically. "But we have seen worse,"

"Hatake, I think we are going to be hard-pressed to find something more depraved than two zombified elves enjoying the "benefits" of marriage," responded Susano'o dryly.

Merry sighed, and ran a hand over his face, shocked into antipathy. He was surprised that Gandalf and the rest of the men had not reacted to the lewd scene and conversation. Through the shrub's branches he could see Elrohir suppressing laughter.

As soon as the hobbit turned around to return to behind the shrub, the fire was violently extinguished with a splash, plunging the area into darkness. Merry's heart raced as a chill pervaded the air, leaking into him as the emotion of fear. For one reason or another, the air smelt of swamp water and decay. There was a snapping sound, and then an airy ball of bluish flame burned in the fire pit, casting everything in an alien light. Seven tall, dead, and sopping wet armored elves stood in a wide semicircle around the edge of the campsite. One fastened its white eyes on the "zombies". The corpses froze, looking vaguely disappointed and afraid.

"Ma alahanda nát?" said the newcomer to the couple, its voice void of emotion. It then turned to its companions. "Qui merin ma carina, caruvanyes eryavë, lá?"

Another elf with a helmet on his head nodded. "Istanya ná ve istalya," he then turned to the "zombies". "Á tulta málostë,"

Merry was frozen in place and a more than a bit annoyed with the events of the early morning.

"Oh for crying out loud, is it that hard to speak in Westron?" he complained, frustrated. "Just tell me why you all decided to disturb our well-deserved sleep at this time of day!"

Seven pairs of undeniably creepy white eyes fastened onto him, emotionlessly staring at him.

"What is this?" asked a red-head, with a heavy accent. "What are you?"

Merry blinked. "I am a hobbit. What are you?"

The Bradybuck was well aware that he was talking to an elf. Merry had a vague plan that involved annoying the corpses until they left, without letting on that they stumbled across the army. He was not very sure that it would work.

"I am Silvan," said the red-head, cocking his head to the side. "And you are a hobbit,"

"What is "Silvan"?" he asked, confused.

The elf was interrupted by a sudden loud, yelping scream that emitted from the zombie couple, echoing throughout the camp. Merry could feel his blood run cold as similar yelps were returned, some faint, others louder, closer. The hobbit was nearly knocked over by a rush of decayed bodies loped past him, scattering around the seven ghost-like elves. Fifteen-odd pairs of pale yellow eyes stared at him, and various animalistic noises filled the colder-than-normal morning air. Whispered Elvish flowed underneath the soft clamor, unnerving the Bradybuck.

"Why are you here?" he asked tiredly. A flood of voices invaded his head.

"_**Do you have-"**_

"_**-we do not like manflesh, I swear-"**_

"_**Sauron wants us to-"**_

"_**-the Master asked us-"**_

"_**Lembas! Do you have Lembas?"**_

"Calm down, all of you!" declared Gandalf, striding into the eerie blue light, coming to stand beside Merry. "Let your leader speak,"

"He is not here, Istari," said the helmed elf. "We know not of where he is. We are here because he said "attend to the horses". We knew not of what to make of it, but we figure he wanted us to come here"

An elf with black hair and a shield snorted. "Fool, he said "attack the humans". But we do not know what humans are,"

Merry exchanged a look with Gandalf, who seemed to be refraining from an undignified eye roll.

"I have not heard of a human either," said the Bradybuck, lying outright. "What do you think they are?"

The seven elves turned to each other and began to whisper to in Elvish, looking obviously confused. The fifteen-odd zombies seemed content to sit around, idly gnaw on limbs, or play with each other's hair. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see two of the males wrestling like puppies. It was so unlike the behavior of any the elves he had seen. Worried, the hobbit turned his attention back to the seven dripping elves.

"What are they saying Gandalf?" asked Merry, an anxious feeling gnawing at the pit of his stomach.

"They are discussing their leader," replied the White Wizard quietly. "They are saying that he is supposed to return soon,"

"Is that bad?"

"I would assume so," answered Gandalf calmly. "But they will soon leave,"

Merry blinked in surprise. "How do you know that?"

The wizard simply smiled at him, and the hobbit knew that his question was not going to be answered. He looked around him, and was surprised to see only five "zombies" left, including the affectionate couple. The pair appeared to be sleeping, while the other three restlessly crawled around the seven elves, trying to get their attention by tugging at their cloaks while whining pitifully.

"_**Something is out there," **_they whimpered fearfully. _**"It is killing us,"**_

In the ultimate display of callousness, an elf, with a very annoyed look on his face, kicked one of the "zombies" out of the illuminated area. Merry waited for the degraded corpse to return, but it never did. The remaining two corpses made a crying noise and rushed over to the couple, waking them up. The exchange of snarls, yelps and whines remained untranslated. The creatures suddenly went silent when the seven elves ceased their discussion, and looked around them with their milky eyes.

"What happened to your fellows?" asked the red-haired elf to the shivering "zombies"

One of them ran its rotten tongue over its lipless exposed teeth. _**"They have lembas. Others go find lembas, but they flee to Mandos instead. I think we are hunted,"**_

One of the seven, a blonde, snapped at the corpse. "That is obvious. But what are you being hunted by?"

Before the cowering corpse could respond, a three-pronged dagger suddenly grew out of the ground, but a few yards from Merry's feet. The Bradybuck felt Gandalf's iron grip on his shoulder and was quickly dragged backwards, through the shrubs and out of the circle. Minato suddenly appeared in a flash of yellow, and staggered. The shinobi was practically asleep on his feet.

"Man ta ná?" whispered the first elf who had spoken. Nobody responded. They merely watched the yellow-haired man sway from side to side.

"Poor sensei," Merry heard Kakashi murmur somewhere off to his left. "He is going to have a nasty shock waking up,"

A general noise of agreement emanated from the darkness; the hobbit could identify Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer, and Pippin out of the small symphony.

One of the "zombies", a fairly youthful corpse that was missing its lower jaw, hesitantly prowled over to Minato. It waited a couple seconds by the shinobi to see if the foreigner would react; when he failed to do so, the creature stuck its blackened fingers into Minato's pocket.

The shinobi awakened instantly, and, before Merry could process it, he kicked the unfortunate "zombie" directly toward the seven elves. The corpse's chest burst open upon the force of the kick, scattering entrails throughout the area. The creature staggered back onto its feet, a horrified look in its pale yellow eyes. There was a long pause as Minato and the "undead" elves stared at each other.

"Freak out in 3, 2, 1"

Just as the last number quietly left Kakashi's lips, Minato let out a terrific scream.

"_Aa watashi no kami, aa watashi no kami! __Korera no zonbi desu! Korera no zonbi wo kuso desu!"_ he yelled, pulling outa scroll and unfurling it like a shield in front of him. The "zombies" shrieked in fear and quickly tore off into the night. The seven waterlogged elves hissed at the scroll, baring strangely pronounced canines.

"Who do you think you are, to order us around like this?" snarled the red-haired elf.

Minato was clearly terrified and was obviously attempting not to cower beneath his apparently powerful scroll. The significantly taller beings towered over him, radiating fear.

"I am the master of the Flying Thunder God! For the love of the creator I just want to nap in peace, so f- off, or I will send you to meet your maker!"

The elves jumped back, their white eyes widening.

"You can do that?" whispered the blonde quietly.

"I will rip your soul from your body and eat it with bear's fat!" roared Minato with paper-thin bravado. The elves shrank back, and one of the elves raised its hand, and snapped its gloved fingers. The eerie blue fire vanished, plunging the campsite into darkness.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Kakashi had spent the small hours of the morning being mentally scarred by zombies, baiting zombies with surprisingly fresh lembas, killing zombies, and making sure that poor Minato-sensei would wake up in the most comfortable place possible after he fainted from exhaustion. The Hatake was glad that Merry had decided to help him take care of Sensei after the seven armored elves and the remaining zombies had left. The hobbit was brave to have stood up to the seven elves. In spite of that early hour of excitement, the camp had all but fallen back to sleep. Kakashi found it nice to quietly watch the sun rise above the horizon, even though he wished that he had found sleep. But in any case, the chūnin was awake, and listening to Susano'o's radio. The Hatake was still surprised that it even had any sort of reception.

"Good morning, Kakashi," greeted Kuro with a large grin.

The chūnin pulled the headphones off his ears and placed them around his neck.

"Good morning Kuro," he politely returned.

"I saw some of the zombie corpses. Did something happen last night?"

Kakashi nodded. "In the early morning, fifteen zombie elves wandered into camp, looking for lembas,"

"Ahh," said the Uchiha with a shudder. "Anko and I still had a bit of that bread. Galadriel-sama gave it to us personally, and it keeps pretty well. Quite the effective chakra booster, neh? Anyway, I guess it was the bread that caused them to chase us. What else happened?"

The chūnin sighed through his nose, and continued. "Well, five people were killed and partially eaten, and we had to find a way to get rid of the undead. Pippin proposed that we lay out a trap, bait it with lembas, and then kill the zombie when it gets caught. The problem was that it would take too long to do that,"

"So what were the other ideas?" Kuro asked, a curious look on his face.

The Hatake thought, and realized that he could not recall hearing any other ideas. "I don't know. I was not quite paying attention. But, these seven elves arrived…"

The medic gasped, covering his mouth in shock. "Were they covered in armor, dripping wet, and looked pretentious?"

"…More or less, yes," Kakashi answered slowly. "They had the all the zombies summoned over to their side, so then Aragorn was able to tweak Pippin's plan. We baited some spots with lembas, and then jumped the poor creatures when they got caught; all while Merry and Gandalf distracted the seven elves. Nine out of fifteen are dead, and Minato-sensei scared the rest away, including the strange seven,"

Kuro inhaled deeply, then exhaled, giving Kakashi a satisfied nod. "Good, very good. I am glad to hear that,"

The chūnin gave the Uchiha a look. "Kuro, just what about the zombie elves scared you and Anko so much? They aren't really scary as much as pitiful,"

The medic's eyes widened and favored Kakashi with an incredulous look. "Ah ha ho. Clearly, my…sheltered, friend, you have not been so unfortunate, as to witness the *a-hem* ACT, as performed by a pair of rotting corpses. Not to mention they are elves,"

It took a couple second for Kuro's information to sink in.

"You poor soul, I only saw them make out,"

"Lucky. This has completely ruined by perception of elves,"

The two sat together in silence, listening to the weather report of Konoha softly filter though the headphones. It was to be sunny, with a high of 21˚celsius. The Hatake looked up at the sky, which had scattered clouds, colored pink and orange by the rising sun.

"…Don't tell Hoshi about this, Kakashi," whispered Kuro, a pleading expression on his face.

"Don't worry about that. I am planning on bleaching my brain of those memories anyway,"


	33. Chapter 33

**A.N****:**

**Thank you to DreamingIn2Eternity and Haku Yuukinari for reviewing! Thank you to all those who are following this story, and to all those who have favorited. I apologize for the long wait, and I hope this chapter was not a mediocre one.**

**Thank you for all the support, and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Lothíriel hid a quiet yawn behind her hand. The sun had barely been above the horizon for an hour, and the stillness of the morning only encouraged her drowsiness. The brilliant, pink-streaked sky promised a fair day. Lothíriel enjoyed the short walk from her family's townhouse to the Houses of Healing. The clean, white stone of the buildings was the perfect canvas for the morning light that colored the city, and complimented the flower-filled window boxes that adorned the houses. The healer idly noticed that half someone's poor petunias appeared to have been eaten. As she mourned for the flowers, Lothíriel heard a groan. She whirled around to see a man with a bloody chest and his limbs bound, slumped against a wall in shaded corner. The healer gasped, and ran over to the man, worried.<p>

"What happened to you?" she asked, untying his hands and legs. The man groaned and tried to lift his head, but was too weak to do so.

"Do not worry," she said soothingly, pulling the injured man's arm over her shoulders, surprised by his light weight. "I will take you to the Houses of Healing. We will take care of you there,"

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

It was a perfect day in Minas Tirith. The sun was shining brightly in the sparsely-clouded sky, and the temperature was mild. Unfortunately, Rin was not in the best mood.

"I think that I have already explained to you both why this is necessary," the medic said, irritated. She was sitting in a neat, white room that was just off the gardens, with Eowyn and Faramir. The two had exhibited signs of depression and PTSD, which thankfully did not appear to be too severe. Hoshi was confident that the two would recover without her intervention, but after listening to her sound logic, he agreed that the brunette could help. However, neither of them wanted to even try the therapy.

"How do we know that you will not tell others what we disclose to you?" asked Faramir, his grey eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Rin sighed. "Maybe you were not paying attention when I mentioned that I cannot legally disclose any of your personal information. I don't know about your laws here, but I can sign an agreement of nondisclosure if it will make you more comfortable,"

Faramir relaxed slightly, but he still looked rather anxious. Eowyn was picking at her cast, now covered with many different names and well-wishes.

"Have you done this sort of thing before?" asked the Shieldmaiden softly, a passive expression on her face.

"Only once, with a professional," Rin admitted, twirling the pencil in her hand. "But I have observed the procedure numerous times before. I wish to become a psychologist when I retire from the shinobi forces,"

A flicker of confusion crossed their faces when the medic introduced them to the word "psychologist". But neither Ardian asked for clarification on the meaning of the word.

"_Good morning _Rin!"

The medic started in surprise, and looked over to an open window. Hoshi was settled on the sill in a crouch, clothed in Ardian clothes. His hands and face were stained with black ink, and he had bags under his eyes. The pale boy looked to his left and just noticed Eowyn and Faramir.

"Oh, sorry!" he apologized. "I did not know that you all were in the middle of something,"

"Not exactly," answered Rin.

"Ah, so you two do not want to try the counseling, eh?" Hoshi commented with a sly grin on his face. "It is actually pretty helpful, and at least you both have a say in the matter. Shinobi have some of the best experience with dealing with trauma and depression. Rin knows what she is doing, and she isn't going to medicate you either, so you two are already in a better situation than I was,"

Eowyn shot Hoshi a pitying look. "You were forced into this?" she asked gently.

Hoshi shrugged. "I guess I needed it. Whenever I was badly scared, which was often, I would recite the murders of my friends in chronological order. Kakashi had to literally shock me out of it every time, until the therapy kicked in. Now I don't always snap into a delusion whenever I am in a fight, and all they need snap me out of it is soda. The nightmares stopped too,"

The White Lady stopped picking at her cast, looking thoughtful. "This can only help us?" she asked.

The pointy-eared boy grinned. "My lady, it will surely speed up your recovery!"

The blonde looked over to Faramir, who still seemed unsure.

Hoshi fixed the soon-to-be steward with a stern look. "You might actually need this counseling," he remarked quietly.

Faramir shot the genin a displeased glare. "I appreciate your concern, but I do not think that this is any of your business," he said in a cool, polite tone.

Hoshi straighten his spine and crossed his arms. "Alright," he said, miffed. "I suppose you love nightmares, delight in flinching from fires, and rejoice in your physical disgust for overcooked meat,"

Rin promptly stood up and cuffed her teammate in the back of his head.

"That was uncalled for!" she snapped as Hoshi gave a yelp of pain. "Apologize!"

"_Ow_, Rin!" he whined, hunched over and rubbing the back of his skull in pain. The pale-eyed boy slowly straightened his posture and managed to place a sincere look on his face.

"I ask for your forgiveness, my Lord," he said politely, with a hint of contrition on his face. "My comment was unnecessarily harsh,"

"Apology accepted," Faramir replied tersely, still frowning at Hoshi.

The pointy-eared boy fidgeted slightly under the grey gaze of Denethor's son. Rin sighed

"Enough, let's not be immature," she chastised the two. "Now, let's decide upon our next step. Would you like for me to sign an agreement of nondisclosure?"

"Yes, please," answered Faramir, while Eowyn nodded earnestly.

"Alright. Hoshi, can you write up one for us?"

Her teammate pulled a face. "Rin, I am not a scribe,"

The medic shot him a look. "Then can you find someone to do that for us?"

The boy sighed. "Fine," he said with a huff.

"Excellent!" Rin chirped. "While that is in progress, I would like you two to keep a journal. Write about the recent events and how you feel about them. Feel free to discuss them with others. I won't pry into your business until I have signed that agreement, okay?"

The Gondorian and the Rohir nodded simultaneously, looking a bit more comfortable with the idea of counseling. The medic turned to her teammate, who was still seated on the window sill.

"Do you have other things to do?" she asked gently.

Hoshi shrugged. "I have already finished all the assignments given to me. I simply came here to deliver the papers to Faramir and enquire about my next task,"

Faramir looked a bit surprised. "Oh. The council looked them through?" he said. "That was rather quick,"

The pale boy flashed a small grin at the man as he removed a thick pack of papers from a satchel and handed them to Faramir.

"Lord Húrin has been open to my suggestions to them incentives to keep up their work,"

The Gondorian exchanged a glance with Eowyn, who smiled, and turned back to Hoshi with one brow arched.

"And what would some of those suggestions be?"

However, the adopted Uchiha's reply was cut off by a soft rap at the door.

Rin looked over to her companions, silently inquiring if anyone was expected. However, everyone looked as surprised as she felt.

"Come in" she said.

The door opened and Lothíriel slowly walked in, a concerned look on her face.

"Sorry to bother you, but we are missing a patient,"

"Missing a patient?" Eowyn echoed, looking a bit incredulous.

Lothíriel looked very sheepish. "It was a red-haired man with a very serious chest wound. I found him lying in a corner in the sixth circle, and brought him here to be treated. I stitched him up, but when I returned from getting some clean bandages, he was gone,"

The whole situation sounded very odd to Rin. A red-haired person with a terrible wound that was dying on the side of the road…

"_Could it be…?"_she thought.

"Is his face scarred?" blurted out Hoshi, his face ghostly pale.

The healer nodded, an expression of muted surprise appearing on her face.

"How!?" howled Hoshi suddenly, causing everyone to jump in surprise. "I stabbed him in the heart! That son of a dog should be dead! How in the world is he still alive?"

Faramir, Eowyn, and Lothíriel looked absolutely shocked by the grey-eyed boy's rant.

"You-you stabbed him?" Eowyn said slowly in disbelief.

Hoshi shot her an angry look. "That man was an enemy shinobi. I too am a shinobi, am I not?" he snapped. "Yuu was a threat that I thought I neutralized. How is he still here?!"

Rin walked over to her teammate and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hoshi, calm down," she ordered. "I am pretty sure there is a reasonable explanation for this,"

"There is," the adopted Uchiha muttered, with an undertone of realization. "I simply do not want to even consider it,"

Lothíriel looked frightened. "We must find him then, before he causes trouble,"

Faramir slowly nodded in affirmation, and stood up from his seat. "Eowyn and I will search the northwestern side. Rin and Hoshi will search the southeastern side. I would suggest that you would be better off keeping Ioreth company for awhile, Lothíriel,"

The healer nodded in agreement, and promptly left. Eowyn stood up, a look of anticipation gleaming in her eyes.

"What should we do if we find Yuu?" she asked.

"Disable him, but keep him intact for questioning," Hoshi requested while looking through his satchel. Rin watched him pull out and replace a weapon's scroll, a standard storage scroll, and his flute. His red armguard was already on his left arm, and he had his forehead protector tied around his waist. The medic was rather surprised that her teammate was already prepared for a fight. There was a knock on the door again.

"Come in," invited Faramir, who had been briefly cleaning a small boot dagger.

It was Lothíriel, who was holding two sheathed swords.

"I thought you two could use these," she said with a smile, handing Eowyn her sword and holding out the other to Faramir. "I wish you luck,"

The Gondorian gave a nod of thanks to the healer, while Eowyn thanked Lothíriel profusely.

Hoshi grinned at the scene, but he eyes the door with visible impatience. After a total of two seconds, it seemed that the lanky boy could wait no longer.

"Come on, Rin, let's go!" he said in a loud whisper. Rin was not even given a moment to protest as he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the door.

‡‡*‡‡*‡‡*‡‡*‡‡

It was approaching midday and neither Eowyn and Faramir, nor she and Hoshi, had found Yuu. The medic had discovered the Suna nin's big toe lying in the middle of the hallway, but that was the most their team had found. As they entered the gardens, Hoshi declared that the entire southeastern side of the Houses of Healing was zombie-free and they should join Eowyn and Faramir on their search. Rin was not necessarily pleased with her teammate's thinking.

"Hoshi, we should continue patrolling. Yuu could move southeast as we meet up with Faramir and Eowyn,"

The pale boy drooped. "Then can we just look through the gardens before going back inside?" he begged.

The brunette sighed. "I guess you do need the sun. You got so pale that I can see your freckles,"

Hoshi simultaneously perked up and scowled at her. "What freckles?" he grumbled.

Rin decided not to respond, and started to scan to foliage for any signs or Yuu or his _genjutsus_. Hoshi was also poking around in the plants, but was stopping often to smell or admire any of the flowers. The slowly made their way further into the garden, leaving no stone unturned. Unfortunately, turning stones activated a few _genjutsus_.

"Aaaahhhhhh!" Rin instinctively recoiled as a swarm of flies attacked her. She swatted at the biting insects furiously, stumbling around. She felt a hand press against her back, and her chakra ripple. The flies disappeared, much to her relief.

"Thanks Hoshi,"

He nodded in acknowledgement, but continued to search the little garden. Suddenly, he froze in place. The genin's pale eyes darted around, and Rin saw his ears twitch. The medic stayed still, a nervous feeling welling up in the pit of her stomach. Wanting to be absolutely sure, she caught Hoshi's eye and made the hand sign for "enemy". Her teammate nodded, and made a series of hand signs that read: "Allies have found enemy and are pursuing it." The pointy-eared boy shifted a few feet, very tense. Rin also tensed up, preparing to pounce.

Suddenly a chorus of yells rang through the garden, accompanied by the swish of blades. Rin looked up to see Yuu's head soaring through the air, and landing a few feet away from Hoshi. The medic could pick up the _thud_ of the body over the head's cursing, and she ran to her teammate.

_*"What the F-! You cheaters, you f-ing cheaters! That's not fair! You double-teamed me, you little s-!"*_

Hoshi had picked up Yuu's head, and was walking toward Eowyn and Faramir. Faramir had a foot on the struggling torso, and Eowyn had pinned on of the Suna nin's hands to the ground with her sword.

"What is he saying?" asked Faramir, who eyed the head with a glimmer of horror.

"He is calling you cheaters for double-teaming him," Hoshi translated with a note of disgust. "I do not understand how he was made jōnin,"

Yuu's pale face turned an interesting shade of purple. _*"You f-ing blue-blood! How dare you insult my abilities! If I had my hands I would kill you in an instant!"*_

"I somehow doubt that," Hoshi replied dryly. "Now how are you still alive?"

Instead of answering the question, Yuu continued to rant on how the youth had no respect for their elders and listed a variety of ways in which he would kill the lanky genin.

"Hoshi, I don't think he understands you," Rin pointed out.

"Oh…really?" he blinked, sounding genuinely confused.

_*"Oi! Stop speaking that little nancy nonsense of yours and talk in a real language!"*_

Hoshi now looked incredibly irritated. *_"Westron is a good enough language, thank you very much!"*_ he snapped. *_"Now tell me, how are you still alive?"*_

"Turn around and maybe I'll consider telling you,"

Shocked, Rin whirled around, as did Faramir and Eowyn. Yuu, looking perfectly alive, bar the unnaturally pale skin, was leaning against the garden wall, toying with an apple. Faramir looked down at the still-struggling corpse beneath his feet, and back to the smirking jōnin.

"What sort of Necromancer are you?" he asked in a whispered snarl.

Yuu laughed at the question. "Me, a Necromancer? What would a Suna nin be doing with such techniques?"

"They say your village has the ghost of an evil monk sealed in a kettle, that you allow it to possess people," Hoshi uttered, still looking at the head. "They say the ghost plants madness in their host's head, and drives them to bloodlust. However, it can only fully possess their host when they are sleeping, thus the hosts must stay awake, night after night after night…"

Yuu's smirk fell a bit. "Where did you learn that information?" he asked, twirling the apple on his index finger. "And that sort of thing has nothing to do with raising the dead,"

The adopted Uchiha turned around to face the red-haired jōnin, a dark expression on his face.

"I think that sort of stuff has much to do with necromancy. As for how I know this, well, I learned it quite by accident," Hoshi responded in a flippant tone, which was in direct contrast to the expression he was wearing. "ANBU had a file on this "Shukaku" open and I was not exactly in a hurry to leave…"

Rin glared at her teammate. "Hoshi! You should not be looking at ANBU files! What were you doing in their archives anyway?"

The pointy-eared boy simply shrugged. "They had something of mine that they should not have had, and my actions did not harm anybody,"

The medic noted the questioning looks Eowyn and Faramir where aiming in her direction, but she was not sure if there was time to answer their unspoken queries.

Rin sighed. "It was the photos, wasn't it?" she muttered in dull realization.

Hoshi's ears burned red, but the genin remained silent.

Yuu began laughing. "Your kind are quite entertaining; so easily impressed by technology!"

"Cease your f-ing crow's cackle, will you?" growled Eowyn, raising her sword up toward the Suna nin's neck. "What do you want with us?"

Yuu quieted down, and a leer appeared on his scarred face. "As pretty as you are, I want nothing to do with you, or at least anything I am permitted to do…"

The Shieldmaiden slapped the jōnin with the flat of her blade. "Mind your tongue, rat! Why are you here?"

Yuu wiped the blood from his cheek, the grin still present on his face. "It's pretty simple. I am here to take a person Sauron called…Erdal-Ellderee- ah-f-it. Telcontar, you're coming with me!"

Yuu abruptly vanished, causing everyone to look wildly around them. Then, breaking a tense silence, there was a sudden noise of shock, and then a soft moan of pain that came from Hoshi. Rin, horrified, whirled around only to see her limp teammate in Yuu's arms as the two disappeared in a small sandstorm.

Faramir swore in some strange language as the corpse suddenly burst into flame. Eowyn was saying something, but Rin did not understand it. There was a roaring in her ears that drowned everything else out.

"I have to tell Minato-sensei," she muttered in shock, her hands automatically clenching into fists. "I have to alert Kakashi and Obito,"

A hand was placed on her shoulder. "We will help you," assured Faramir. "The army will halt at high noon for a brief meal. You can contact your comrades then,"

Rin nodded. "Right, yes. Can we use the palantír?"

Faramir shook his head. "It is as good as broken right now,"

"Do you still have that talking box with the wires?" Eowyn asked kindly.

The medic nodded. "Yes…yes I do have it," she said, recalling that it was placed somewhere in Gandalf's house. "Well then, I will see you both at high noon!"

Rin promptly wove the signs for _Shunshin no jutsu_ and flickered away.


	34. Chapter 34

Gimli had settled down to eat his midday meal with Legolas, who had joined Elrond's twin sons. They ate with the rest of the Grey Company in relative silence, except for sparse exchange of words between Legolas and one of the twins. The grey-cloaked rangers were passing around a piece of paper, and held brief, whispered conversations as it was moved from person to person. As he was finishing his meal, the scrap of paper landed on his knee. Curious, Gimli picked up the paper. The dwarf was stunned to see that there was an incredibly detailed picture of Hoshi, aiming what appeared to be a short bow at the person viewing the picture. Gimli looked over to his nearest non-elven neighbor, a scrawny young man barely out of adolescence.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, holding up the picture.

The young ranger started slightly, and blinked sheepishly when he realized that Gimli was talking to him.

"It belongs to Halbarad," he answered, and Gimli nodded, briefly recalling Aragorn's cousin. "He wanted all of the Grey Company to see it. Do you know how it was made?"

The dwarf shrugged. "I have not the faintest clue. I would have thought it a painting if not for the strangeness of the paper,"

The young man nodded eagerly. "I would very much like to learn how to make one of these pictures,"

"What is it that you are looking at?" asked Legolas, peering over the dwarf's shoulder.

"Probably the shinobi picture," said one of the twins. "Halbarad has been showing it to the Grey Company,"

The blonde archer carelessly plucked the picture out of Gimli's hand, and made a small gasp when he had a proper look at it.

"Is this Hoshi?" he asked, a look of wonder on his face. "It must be! What detail! How was this done?"

Gimli shrugged. "We will have to ask the shinobi," the dwarf replied.

"Ask us what?"

Gimli turned his head to see Obito approaching them, holding some of the shinobi's odd food.

"How was this made?" asked Legolas, holding up the picture of Hoshi.

The black-haired boy sat cross-legged on the ground near the dwarf. Once he was settled, Obito took a brief look at the picture.

"That's a photograph. You need a camera to get one of those," he explained.

Gimli and the others that were listening mulled over the new words.

"What is a cam-er-a?" hesitantly asked the young Dúnedain.

Obito looked stumped for a minute. "Um, well, it's a machine that takes pictures,"

"But how?" the scrawny ranger asked.

The boy shrugged. "I dunno. It needs light and chemicals and stuff. I'm not a photographer,"

"Oh," responded the young ranger, looking a bit put out. "Is it possible to make a, er, camera?"

"If you lived in my country, you could buy some pretty simple ones for cheap," answered Obito between bites of food. "I seriously doubt that you could make one wherever you happen to live. Why do you want one?"

The scrawny Dúnedain flushed crimson, and his comrades began to chuckle good-naturedly.

"Teithon wants to be an artist," explained an older ranger, his smile accompanied by a shake of his head.

"No shame in wanting that as a profession," said Gimli, trying to support the poor boy.

"Because drawing pictures kills orcs," grumbled one of the rangers, causing Teithon to look even more embarrassed.

"Hey! Knock it off!" snapped Obito. "I know that there is a technique that some shinobi use to bring their drawings to life, so some pictures can kill orcs. Even if they did not, it still is nice to have a hobby," The black-haired boy shoved a riceball into his mouth, and continued talking as he chewed.

"Anyway, cameras aren't really used for artsy purposes. We mainly use them to get accurate pictures of people, animals, things and places,"

As Obito swallowed, he stuck his hand into his back pouch and pulled out a small book. Gimli noticed that everyone was eyeing the black-covered book with interest.

"This is a pretty good example of what we tend to use cameras for. It's basically a list of criminals and other major threats to the village and lists of bounties for their heads,"

"What is the point of owning such a book?" asked the twin dress in light grey.

"So we know what to do when we encounter certain criminals," explained the young shinobi calmly as he opened the book to a random page. "For example, here I have some guy called Kakuzu," He turned the book around, and displayed a picture of a dark-skinned man with long, brown hair, and the strangest eyes that Gimli had ever seen. Obito quickly turned the book back toward himself and kept reading.

"Okay, he's a high-ranking guy, with a kill-on-sight warning. Whoa, he tried to kill Shodai? How the heck is he still alive?"

The entire Grey Company looked confused. "Who is Shodai?" asked one of the rangers

"Our village's first leader, which means that Kakuzu is pretty old for a shinobi," explained Obito. "Anyway, the photo is used so we can identify him, and not kill the wrong person or get misinformed,"

There was a collective nod of all who were listening to the young foreigner.

"Thank you for that little lesson!" Legolas chirped. "But I am curious, why are you eating with us rather than with your comrades?"

Obito scowled. "Susano'o and Kakashi were fiddling around with the radio until the came across this really, really strange station. They might have like what terrible auditory diarrhea was being spewed from its speakers, but I did not care for it,"

Gimli frowned "I am sure whatever they may have been listening to could not be terrible,"

The shinobi raised his eyebrows. "The lyrics were, as Hoshi would put it, 'not even fit for a brothel'. Not to mention how terrible the music itself was."

The dwarf was struck speechless by what the seemingly naïve shinobi had just said. He briefly glanced around at the present company, all of who looked just as stunned as he felt. Obito continued to eat his lunch like he had merely commented on the weather.

"Obito!" bellowed someone from across the camp. Gimli turned around to find the source of the voice. The red-haired dwarf noticed Kuro running full pelt across the camp, and, in the opposite direction, that Aragorn and Halbarad were returning from a meeting with the other leaders. Kuro skidded to a stop mere feet away from his cousin, and almost collapsed, attempting to catch his breath.

"That…bastard…kid…napped…Hoshi," he panted out. "Rin…just…contacted,"

Obito leapt to his feet, his food tumbling to the ground. "What?!" he cried.

"What happened?" asked Aragorn, who had just arrived.

Kuro took a deep breath and explained. "Hoshi was kidnapped by Yuu,"

Gimli was taken aback. "Today?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kuro affirmed with a nod, before turning back to Obito. "Minato wants to talk with you,"

The two boys promptly set off. Aragorn immediately began following them, an expression of anxiety hidden in his eyes. The Twins sprang up and tailed after their adopted brother. Before he could say anything, Legolas dragged him to his feet.

"Let's go Gimli. We have to know if Hoshi is alright,"

Allowing his own worry and curiously to come to the forefront, the dwarf gladly allowed the princeling to drag him along.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Kakashi sat in silence, listening to Minato-sensei talk to Rin, Eowyn, and Faramir. Minato-sensei had a grave expression on his face, only uttering a short phrase here and there. Susano'o and Anko were uncharacteristically subdued.

"Thank you for your information, Lady Eowyn and Lord Faramir. Please keep an eye on Rin for me,"

There was a brief pause, and Minato-sensei turned off the radio, and took off the headphones. The usually bright jōnin looked very gloomy, and released a long sigh. Kakashi's keen ears picked up the sounds of many people approaching. Seconds later Obito and Kuro skidded to a stop, quickly followed by Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir, Halbarad, and Gimli and Legolas.

"What happened to Hoshi?!" demanded Obito, an anxious look on his face.

Sensei ran a hand through his hair. "A resurrected Yuu seized him in the gardens of the Houses of Healing on the orders of Sour-on himself," he explained tiredly.

A silence filled the air, tense with anxious anticipation.

"Well?" said Obito expectantly, giving the jōnin a look. Kakashi was irritated enough by the move to speak.

"Well what Obito?" he snapped back. "Are you expecting us to tell you about some non-existent plan to save him? Yuu referred to Hoshi by his actual name, and said that it was Sour-on that told him that bit of information. There is no way that our teammate is being kept alive for information; Sour-on's going to kill him out of pure spite,"

"So we are going to simply accept his death?" asked Elrohir, a furious expression on his face.

"Do any of you have any other ideas?" Minato-sensei responded, looking drained.

"If Hoshi has been taken into Mordor, Orochimaru could fetch him," Legolas suggested calmly. "You have received a few reports from him, have you not?"

Sensei looked over to Anko, who promptly unfurled a scroll. "Led orcs and Nazgûl on a wild goose chase as two hairy toes continued undisturbed. Capture is inevitable. Mission will continue as planned." The kunoichi furled the scroll. "That was sent ten minutes ago," she said with a sigh.

Gimli and Legolas bowed their heads, Elladan began to wring his hands, and Aragorn began to quietly pace, while Elrohir and Halbarad watched him walk back and forth.

"So this is it?" said Obito his voice cracking. "We are just going to abandon my brother to be tortured to death?"

Kakashi sighed sadly. "We don't know that he will be tortured. He could be alive, he could be dying or he could already be dead,"

"He is not dead," Aragorn said sharply, finally pausing in his slow pacing, his back to them, looking up between the trees.

Minato-sensei offered the ranger a wry smile. "I beg that is not the denial talking, my friend," he said dryly.

Aragorn turned around to look at them. "Hoshi has been in this sort of situation numerous occasions before, and has survived on either his own cunning or luck. I believe that he will pull through," he said in a tone of fervent conviction, his grey eyes alight.

Susano'o, who had been mercifully quiet the entire time, frowned at him. "But what will you do if he turns out to be dead?" The genin asked softly.

"He will not die," Aragorn said firmly. "Not as long as I am alive,"

Susano'o rolled his eyes. "I beg that was your foresight talking and not your denial," he grumbled.

They wallowed in silence once more, listening to the sounds of the forest and the camp. Kakashi's keen ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. All eyes turned to look at the new arrivals: Merry, Pippin, and Eomer. All three quickly noticed the subdued atmosphere.

"Did somebody die?" asked Merry softly, his eyes darting from face to face.

Minato-sensei sighed heavily, and started to pack up the radio. "Hoshi was kidnapped by a shinobi in the service of Sour-on," he answered wearily.

"In other words," added Kuro pensively. "He might as well be dead,"

Kakashi glared at the Uchiha, who quickly put his hands into a position of surrender, and did not utter a single word to defend himself.

The hobbits nodded in understanding, sad expressions covering their faces. Eomer sighed through his nose, a sympathetic look on his face.

"Thank you for the news," the Rohir said gently giving the jōnin a small nod. He then turned to the two Dúnedian. "It is time to get moving again,"

"Thank you Eomer," Halbarad replied gently. The man glanced over at Aragorn, who appeared to be lost in thought. Legolas and Gimli exchanged a concerned look, but then left the clearing without a word. Kakashi then felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Time to pack up," said Minato-sensei gently. "You and Anko are going with the scouts to look ahead,"

The chūnin nodded, and quickly got to his feet. Minato-sensei had quickly moved over to Obito and was hugging the Uchiha, who was clearly attempting to hold back tears. Kakashi quieted the sympathy he felt for his teammate, and went on to pack his belongings. After all, he did have a mission to complete.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

The first thing Eldarion registered as he awakened in a haze was that wherever he was smelled terrible. It was not the mere stench of garbage or even the oh-so delightful aroma of rotting bodies. Nope, it was the unique smell of the fetid water and putrid soil of the Dead Marshes. A memory flashed in his mind's eye.

_Cold water, cold plants wrapping around his legs. Dank mud greedily swallowing up his feet, and fighting against him, as he ran…ran…ran. _

"_Avoid the meres," he muttered. "The lights lie. Do not follow the lights,"_

_And then his foot caught on some forsaken thing, and he fell face first into the dark water, almost into the outstretched arms of a foul, rotting…_

There was the loud smack of a slap ringing through the air, and it took a few seconds for Eldarion to register the pain. Coming out of the haze, the young boy realized that he had been slapped across the face.

"_Wake up, little one!__"_ demanded a male voice. _"__Wake up!__"_

With great difficulty, Eldarion opened his eyes. A sodden elf with red hair stared back at him with a pair of milky white eyes. He was dressed in old Silvan armor from around the end of the Second Age. Eldarion glanced around him. Several other elves, looking just as drenched as the first elf, were gazing down at him with various levels of concern in their milky white eyes. Many wore the armor of Lindon, and a couple wore armor that displayed their affiliation with Rivendell. All of them clearly had been dead at one point.

_"Are you alright?"_ queried the red-head again. Eldarion nodded, and sat up slowly. The elves surrounding him backed up a bit. The grey-eyed boy finally got a proper look at them. There were five male elves in total. There was an unassuming brown-haired one affiliated with Lindon; another brunette wearing a helmet, also affiliated with Lindon; the red-haired Silvan; one with black hair, clad in Rivendell's armor; and a blonde, also affiliated with Rivendell.

_"I am as healthy as one could expect after being kidnapped,"_ he replied in Sindrian, doing his best to look harmless. _"Who are you?"_

_"If you are asking for our names we do not remember them,"_ snapped the black-haired elf. _"We are those who were buried here after our deaths. Sauron has been holding us captive for many years, but has only recently given us a corporal form... and some __**idiot leader **__that has complete control over us.__"_

The elf spat the words "idiot leader" with so much force and venom the grey-eyed boy could hear his voice echoing inside his head.

_'They were corpse candles,"_ Eldarion realized with muted surprise. _"Who is your idiot leader?"_

_"Some scarred human foreigner,"_ answered the blonde, his milky eyes flicking over to his companions, who nodded.

_"The one who kidnapped me?" _

The five nodded. Eldarion sighed quietly, and grasped his head. He could see a young, scarred, red-haired man wearing the _oddest_ clothes... No, the clothes were not odd, but the fact that this stranger seemed to be familiar. And from the way the five were speaking of Sauron, it sounded like he was still alive.

_"A time-traveling kidnapper. That's a new one,"_ Eldarion inwardly grumbled. He turned back to the elves, who were regarding him with worry.

_"You all need names,"_ he declared with as much childish importance as he could muster. _"Would it trouble you if I gave you some?"_

The five looked at one another, and then the one with the helmet turned to respond.

_"I doubt that it will insult us that much. However, some of us would prefer names in Quenya. Can you do that?"_

_"It is not a problem," _ Eldarion answered, allowing a small note of childish pride to creep into his voice. _ "Just make sure to specify,"_

There were noises of agreement and their eyes gleamed with anticipation. The young Telcontar streached his arms, folded them, and turned to the first elf, who smiled at him.

_**"Quenya, please. It is the only language I speak,"**_

"Ah," Eldarion muttered aloud. After a brief pause, he declared: _"You shall be Nénaquen"_

Then came the helmeted brunette. _"Quenya for me,"_

He smiled, already having a name for the brunette. _"You shall be Harpaner,"_

The red-haired Silven was next, looking very eager. _"Sindarin for me!"_

Eldarion grinned at him._ "You shall be Arnon,"_

After him was the black-haired elf. _"Sindarin,"_ he grunted, almost scowling at the grey-eyed boy.

Eldarion huffed back at him, and grudgingly gave him a name. _"You shall be Mornano,"_

And lastly, there was the blonde, who smiled apologetically him. _"I would prefer a Quenya name, please,"_

Eldarion nodded. _"You shall be Colfinnor,"_

Arnon clapped his hands together gleefully. _"_We have names! Finally, we have names again! Thank you..._"_

_"Gîl," _Eldarion readily supplied. _"Call me Gîl,"_

‡‡*‡‡*‡‡*‡‡*‡‡*‡‡

The afternoon was slowly wearing on, as Eldarion was able to tell from the path of the sun, which was covered by a thin layer of dirty grey clouds. The five dead elves did not guard him, which he found odd, until he saw that he had been placed on a small island in the middle of a particularly daunting mere. The pointy-eared boy hid himself in the sickly rushes, and peered out across the marshes. Eldarion watched hominoid figures shamble about the marshes, and stifled his giggles every time one suddenly dropped into the oily meres with an audible _splash!_ After watching the tenth or so person fall into the mere then climb out, the lanky boy turned his attention to the bag of supplies he had with him. The presence of many odd-looking scrolls mystified him, but he instinctively knew to how to open it and release the supplies somehow stored inside. Eldarion decided to ignore the curious part of his conscious that asked just how he had these abilities after finding a wonderful jar of honey.

_"Screw solving personal mysteries!" _ he thought, sticking a spoon into the jar, and then putting the divine substance into his mouth. _"No need to look a gift horse in the mouth,"_

He could hear the sound of approaching chatter as he continued to empty the honey jar, but Eldarion saw no need to stop what he was doing. The only rule he had been given was "don't leave the island", and he was happy to stay put. He was even eating from his own supplies! Sure, the dead do not eat, but he wasn't wasting any of their supplies. Out of all his kidappings, Eldarion was beginning to rank this misadventure in the top ten. The rushes suddenly parted, and Eldarion innocenly looked up at Arnon and two _elleths_. One had auburn hair and wore the garb of a Silven scout, while the other had black hair and wore the armor of Lindon. The _elleth_ from Lindon had the aura of an enchantress. Both had the milky eyes and damp appearance of the other dead.

_"This is the captive. He gave us names!"_ Arnon proudly declared. There was a beat, and then the women suddenly began to fawn over him.

_"Oh, he is absolutely precious!"_ cooed the Silven woman. _"What is your name, little one?"_

Eldarion slowly removed the spoon from his mouth, unable to squash the wariness he was feeling. _"Gîl, miss Loenil,"_

The newly named scout squealed in delight and hugged him. _"You are so cute! Can we keep him?"_ she asked, looking to her other female companion.

The other _elleth_ knelt by his side with a warm smile on her face. _"I certainly want to!"_ she agreed. _"Can you name me?"_

Eldarion blinked. _"Quenya or Sindarin?"_ he asked hesitantly.

A brillient smile crossed her face. _"Quenya please!"_

_"Very well, miss Luhtindë,"_ he replied solemnly.

The two women embraced him, and then began to fuss over him.

_"You need to comb your hair, little one," _Loenil remarked, undoing his braids and gently carding her fingers through his hair.

_"Do not eat honey like that!"_ Luhtindë gently reprimanded. _"It is particularly bad for your teeth. Do not give me that look! Elves teeth can rot, just like the teeth of Men, especially if they eat honey like you just were,"_

Eldarion wiped the rotten look off his face as the two looked him over for any injuries and braided his hair.

_"You both sound like my mother,"_ he remarked, sounding wistful, even to his ears.

Loenil made a sympathetic, curious noise. _"Who is your mother little one?"_

Eldarion hesitated, weighed the pros and cons, and then delivered his answer.

_"She is the daughter of Elrond Half-elven,"_ he answered softly.

Luhtindë gasped. _"You are his grandson?! Amazing... Who did he marry?"_

_"Celebrían, daughter of Galadriel,"_ Eldarion answered again, feeling very uncomfortable.

_"Really? I always thought she would go for a pure-blooded Noldor,"_ comment Arnon. Eldarion's attention swiftly returned to the red-head. He had forgotten that he was still here.

_"Save your shallow judgement for someone who cares,"_ snapped Luhtindë, tugging a bit on the braid she was making. Eldarion winced, but managed to keep quiet.

Arnon shrugged. _"So Gîl, who is your sire?"_

_"No one worthy of note,"_ Eldarion remarked calmly with an amount of nonchalance which surprised even him.

_"In other words, someone very important!"_ Loenil said with a giggle. Eldarion stiffened, and a feeling of fear began to infect him.

_"Relax, little one!"_ she soothed. _"I am not going to ask for names! Considering that you are Lord Elrond's grandson, I am sure that his daughter would only marry someone important. After all, you are more or less a hostage being held for ransom,"_

He made a noise of agreement, and slowly relaxed, gladly allowing the two _elleths_ to fuss over him. Eldarion busied himself with braiding the yellowed reed stalks, and listened to the three elves talk.

_"What can you remember from your life?"_ asked Arnon. _"Every time I look back, it is like there is a big, dark emptiness."_

_"I remember flowers,"_ Loenil said softly. _"Flowers and singing, nothing else. What about you, Luhtindë?"_

The other woman was did not answer. Eldarion could hear her humming a song, one that he did not know the name to.

_"Luhtindë?"_ Loenil practically sang her name. Eldarion pictured that she was waving her hand in front of the _elleth's_ face. _"Do you remember who you were?"_

Luhtindë finally seemed to pay attention. _"I was a wife and mother,"_ she said. _"My husband was a smith. I had two sons, and I cannot remember any of their names. I do not know what has become of them,"_

There were sympathetic noises from Arnon and Loenil; the latter seemed to be particularly struck by the information.

_"Oh, I am so sorry!"_ she cried. Eldarion could feel her stop playing with his hair. Luhtindë said nothing, but he imagined that she had merely nodded her head.

_"My eldest son was very similar in age to Gîl when I left him, if Gîl looks his age,"_ murmured the dark-haired _elleth_ as she finished the braid in his hair.

_"So young!"_ exclaimed Loenil, sounding very heart broken.

_"They are probably all grown up now,"_ Arnon commented gently. _"You will meet them again. Now, at least you have Gîl to fuss over,"_

The two women laughed. Eldarion did his best to look as childish and innocent as possible, all while thanking his lucky stars for looking like an elfin child. Loenil and Luhtindë had already took a motherly shine to him, which meant that, if they were anything like his mother, he would be very well protected. Considering that Sauron himself appeared to have ordered his kidnapping, he was going to need all the protection he could get.

* * *

><p><span><strong>AN<strong>**:**

**I am not dead! As I still happen to be among the living, I would like to thank all those who have held on after I more or less left y'all hanging. Thank you to DreamingIn2Eternity, Flufflover, Haku Yuukinari, kairi loves sora, and a guest for commenting. Thank you to those who have favorites and followed my stories. In spite of my apparent lack of gratitude, rest assured that you are a very important part of my (faulty) motivation.**

**As always, Thank you for the support!**


	35. Chapter 35

**AN****:**

**Guess who isn't dead? Guess who is really guilty for the unannounced hiatus? But guess who is not sorry for having such great people reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following this sorry excuse for an author? ME! Honestly, I have been busy, and I cannot say updates will come faster. But I will do my best not to leave y'll hanging. Thank you so much for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Eowyn fiddled with her cast as Rin shut off the radio. Faramir stood beside her, his attention divided between Rin, the door, and her. The Shieldmaiden was uneasy. They were presently at Gandalf's house, not at the Houses of Healing, where they should be. The stone building was very curiously designed, with separate rooms for separate functions and more space than what she would have known to do with if she owned such a home. The quiet of the building unnerved her, and the morose atmosphere only worsened the anxious feeling. Eowyn shifted to the side, and her shoulder gently bumped into Faramir's. The Gondorian shot her an amused look, causing her to flush. Rin turned back to them, and broke the silence.<p>

"You two should return to the Houses of Healing," she said, lacking her usual vigor. "Write in your journals, discuss your feelings, do whatever makes you happy, within reason of course. I will check up on you both when I get back, so don't forget to do as I have prescribed."

"Back from where?" demanded Faramir gently. "Are you going to find Hoshi?"

"I refuse to abandon my teammate," the girl declared seriously, crossing her arms. "Don't try to stop me from leaving,"

"Very well," replied Faramir, clearly humoring Rin. "But how are you going to find him?"

"Tomorrow the army will arrive at the Black Gate. As far as we know, Sauron has Hoshi and Orochimaru-sensei in his possession. They most likely will be ransomed, so I will find Hoshi there," the brunette explained.

Eowyn frowned. "But the Black Gate is leagues away. How will you get there before the battle?" she asked, confused. Faramir nodded as well, his confusion apparent in his grey eyes.

Rin waved them off, which took the Shieldmaiden and Gondorian aback.

"If I leave now, I can catch up with the army; we shinobi move faster than you think. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have to pack,"

The child walked out of the door, a determined expression on her face. Faramir sighed, and shook his head.

"I am not sure what to think," he murmured. "I doubt that Rin will arrive at her destination in time, or safely. But I have a feeling that if she does not go, there will be consequences,"

"How dire would those consequences be?" Eowyn asked, curious.

A wry smile graced Faramir's face. "They could be as big as Rin taking out her frustration at a wall and breaking her hand to someone of importance dying because she was not there to heal them. Whatever they may be, we have consequences of our own to face for leaving the Houses of Healing without permission,"

Eowyn was puzzled. "We had Rin's permission, did we not?"

"Ah, but she does not have the power to allow us to leave," he replied, the smile becoming slightly mischievous. "We also will be returning without her,"

"I am not chaperoning you two back!" Rin hollered from another room. "You two are mature adults who know that they can keep their hands to themselves!"

Eowyn flushed at the girl's comment while Faramir laughed, clearly amused by the remark.

"_How handsome he is when he is happy,"_ she thought, and then did her best not to blush further at the thought. _"What am I turning into?"_ she bemoaned.

Rin returned to the room, bringing Eowyn out of her thoughts.

"You two should head back, and if anyone gives you crap tell them that you were helping me with an errand that was for the good of the army and that I had to leave. Now keep yourselves happy, and don't run into any trouble while I am gone,"

"Take care Rin," Eowyn said, "and return in one piece,"

"Stay safe," added Faramir.

The petite brunette nodded, offered them a brief smile, then jumped out the window. They watched her jump from roof to roof until she was out of sight.

Then Faramir turned toward her and gestured toward the door with a small smile.

"Shall we?" he said, offering his arm.

Trying her best not to blush Eowyn took the offered limb, and followed him back to the Houses of Healing.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Aragorn was beginning to feel overwhelmed. He could handle leading an army; he could handle leading said army into a possible suicide mission. He could handle undead enemies, no matter what species, intellect, or level of bodily decay. He could handle Sauron and his eight servants, and he could handle the havoc caused by the shinobi's enemy. He was barely managing the thought of losing Arwen, thanks to whatever strange illness Sauron had cursed her with. And then came the news of Hoshi's capture…

"Strider, hey, are you okay?"

The ranger, pulled out of his thoughts, looked down to see Merry, Pippin and Obito all sitting on a very hairy pony. The small animal was clearly borrowed from a member of the Grey Company, and if his memory served correctly, they tended to be rather ill-tempered animals.

"Strider?" Pippin repeated, worried. Aragorn shook his head slightly, and tried to give them a carefree smile. But he couldn't even lift the corner of his mouth.

"This is worse than I thought Pip," whispered Merry.

"There is no need to worry," Aragorn said quickly, and with much assurance as possible. "I am simply-"

"Tired? Stressed? Worried sick?" interrupted Obito; with a surprising amount of energy is his voice. "Don't be! Everything will turn out alright!"

"How the hell do you know that?"

Susano'o appeared on his other side, sitting behind one of the younger members of the Grey Company, facing backwards. His hands loosely held a flask, and he looked vaguely intoxicated. Aragorn shot his fellow ranger an apologetic glance. The bullied man returned an anxious, though thankful look.

"How the hell do we know that Frodo and Sam will get rid of the ring?" continued the copper-skinned boy drunkenly. "I mean, Hoshi could be from a universe parallel to this one, so his world could have a WHOLE different history than this one, ya know? So, if we are basing our knowledge of this place's future on Hoshi's knowledge of the past, then how do we know everything is going to be okay?"

Obito's eye twitched. "I know at least that Hoshi is going to be okay because there is always a pattern to his kidnappings," he started.

"About those," interrupted Merry. "How is he kidnapped so often? I mean, if his heritage is what I think it is, then should he not have plenty of protection?" The Brandybuck stole a glance in Aragorn's direction.

Aragorn was slightly surprised to realize that he was rather offended by Merry's innocent insinuation, and had to consciously unclench his hands on the reins. He was not too pleased that his ability to protect his family was being questioned, that is, if he acknowledged Hoshi's weird connection to him.

The foreign boy sighed. "I can't answer that question. However, a common thread in almost all of said kidnappings his that Hoshi is taken hostage for some sort of ransom," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Gee, I wonder why?" Susano'o grumbled sarcastically.

Aragorn could not resist aiming a particularly nasty glare at the boy. Susano'o blanched and recoiled, nearly falling off of the horse.

"Watch what you say," the ranger said flatly, quickly losing any mood for tolerating the boy's sarcasm. He turned back to Obito, who gave him a vaguely fearful look.

"Remind me never to anger you," muttered the shinobi, clearly finished with talking.

Merry cleared his throat. "We figured that Sauron will send out a diplomat of sorts with Orochimaru and Hoshi and attempt to parley with us, which should work out to our advantage, I would think,"

"But what if we absolutely cannot accept the terms?" said Susano'o. "You know that they aren't going to be asking us to help them with a community flower garden,"

"Isn't he a bundle of optimism," remarked Pippin dryly in a low tone.

Aragorn sighed through his nose. "Minato would be among those who will parley with Sauron's emissary. Hoshi and Orochimaru will be brought before us to convince us of their health, and Minato can simply snatch them over to our side so we will not have to agree to Sauron's terms,"

Susano'o huffed, and took another drink from his flask. "Damn it. You are making me feel hopeful about tomorrow,"

"Is that so terrible?" Obito said smugly, sticking out his tongue.

The copper-skinned boy returned the gesture. "Somebody has to be the cynic."

They rode in a comfortable silence for a while, until Susano'o drunkenly broke the quiet.

"Wait, wait," he slurred. "Does Minato know that he is supposed to be rescuing Ho-*hic*-shi?"

Obito rolled his eyes. "Sensei is not stupid. Of course he will rescues Hoshi,"

A feeling of unease gnawed strongly at Aragorn's gut, one that he was loathe to banish. It was a feeling of premonition; gut instinct, an older ranger had called it. If there was something he had to take away from his life, it was that such a feeling never lied to him.

"Susano'o has a point, Obito," Aragorn said to the young shinobi. "Even if such an idea may be obvious to all of you, it might not be so apparent for your teacher. Make sure he knows, please,"

The boy pouted, and crossed his arms, not looking too pleased with the task. The Uchiha clearly did not want to concede to Susano'o's (momentary) wisdom.

Merry sighed. "Well if you are not going to tell Minato, we are," said the hobbit, giving the boy a look.

"At least when we figure out how to make this blasted creature move any faster," added Pippin, a vexed expression on his face. "It nearly bit my toes off when I tried to coax it forward!"

As soon as the words left the Took's mouth, the pony shot forward, causing its passengers to yelp and grasp at any secure object on the hairy steed. Aragorn watched the animal gallop forward with mild amusement, surprised that none of the trio had fallen off. Even with the moment of levity, the uneasiness had not left him.

"Yah know, those three are probably right," rasped Susano'o, in his odd, gruff voice. "Everything should be fine, and it will be all over in a matter of seconds, just like everything else was. But I cannot help but feel that something is going to go terribly wrong. Like, yah know all of this seems too good to be true," The boy waved a bandaged hand aimlessly to illustrate his point. He hiccupped, and shook his head. "Hoshi, as you probably know, has a vindictive streak a mile wide, and lately he has been acting rather manipulative. All of that is going to come back to bite him in the ass. He is not half as clever as he thinks he is, and any plots he may be attempting to lay are going to blow up in his face."

Aragorn stared at the copper-skinned boy, frowning slightly. "Planning something?"

A single dark eyebrow suddenly hid behind ragged bangs. "I think it is obvious that I am not someone who likes Hoshi, so bare that in mind when I continue to speak. Hoshi will do just about anything within his moral parameters to survive, and the fact that he even has such parameters is a testament to his parents. I said that Hoshi is not half as clever as he thinks he is, but he has enough intelligence in his skull that he knows who to align himself with. He is a loyal friend, but he chooses those friends so they can serve a purpose. How the hell do you think he wormed himself out of being quietly disposed of by our village's council? Or become a part of the most elitist clans on the face of the earth? Befriending, snooping, and blackmail were all used. The bastard has dirt on everybody, and I mean **everybody**."

Susano'o hiccupped, and ceased to drunkenly rant. Aragorn kept his mouth shut, not wanting to reply to the young shinobi in a petty manner. He measured his breaths, trying to keep his fraying temper under control.

"Are you not being a little harsh on this poor fellow?" piped up the young Dúnedain. "You must befriend, snoop, and blackmail as well,"

A thunderous look flickered across the shinobi's face. "He deserves it! The bastard is both nice and nasty, a brave coward, and blessed with the luck of a wise fool!" he snarled, turning to face the unfortunate man. "Hoshi the f-ing noble, can't turn around without someone attempting to kill him! All his previous friends _somehow_ end up caught in the crossfire, eh? No one gets so distressed over their dead friends that they abandon reason! He has to be faking it! The f-ing bastard is both depressed and happy! Hoshi is so f-ing eager to have things fit in the way he sees them that he screws over others so everything can fit in his version of reality!"

"STOP YOUR INSIPID RANTING RIGHT NOW!" roared Aragorn. He was tired, so tired. Too many emotions, so many of them negative, in too short a time. He did not care that others were staring at him, clearly shocked. "I cannot take it," he whispered dully.

"I-I am sorry," Susano'o whispered back, sounding broken. "What I said was something you never should have been privy to,"

Aragorn shook his head. "I would have thanked you if you had realized that earlier," he remarked, not attempting to keep the bite out of his voice. He held his head high, and urged his horse forward, setting off to find his brothers. Perhaps then he might find some peace.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Behind the clouds and mist surrounding the Dead Marshes, the sun began to fall behind the horizon, taking what light filtered through the grey curtains with it. Eldarion sat quietly on his island, slowly piecing together the memories that ran through his head. He did not know when the seven former Corpse Candles had left him on his little island, but the weird peace gave the boy time to organize himself, and the solitude permitted him to think aloud.

"I am a shinobi of Konoha," he murmured, toying with the forehead protector he found in his bag. "My teacher is Namikaze Minato, my teammates are Hatake Kakashi, Rin, and Uchiha Obito. Obito is also my foster brother. I am here because we got lost in the mountains of Earth Country. I was kidnapped by Yuu and, if I am lucky, being held ransom. Now, why did I forget all of this?!" he finished with a frustrated growl.

The lanky boy fell backwards from his sitting position, and looked up at the sky.

"Where are the stars when you need them?" he muttered. The flat, cloudy sky practically mocked him. It felt closer, for there were no stars pinning it up. The Marshes were quiet, and the air around him was oddly cold. Eldarion shivered, and curled himself up into a ball. He had not seen nor heard a single large creature moving between the meres. He pulled the cloak tighter around his body, pressing himself into the ground. The genin had no explanation for his actions, but a feeling gnawed at his gut.

"_Keep low," _he muttered to himself, as fear began to infect him. _"Nothing bad will happen to you,"_

Long minutes passed, and the fear began to abate. Eldarion released a gentle sigh of relief, and allowed his body to fully relax. Another minute passed, and he was relaxed enough to stretch out his cramped limbs. Feeling the slightest bit tired, the elf-like boy yawned as he stretched, and he barely registered the rustle of the reeds as his hands and feet knocked them aside.

Eldarion had just pulled his limbs out of the stretch when he was ambushed. A multitude of hands seized the front of his shirt, his shoulders, even his throat. He felt the rough hands yank him up none too gently, and pull him along. Other hands clasped his cloak, his feet, and one twisted its filthy fingers into his hair. Eldarion forced his eyes to open as he was tugged along like some puppet. Around him teemed an army of corpses; some were bony skeletons, others appeared to have just died. Two Rohirrim held his arms, astride ghastly horses. Rangers' bony fingers clutched his throat and dragged him along by his hair. Easterlings, no older than him when they died, carried his feet. The undead mob was illuminated by the strange swamp lights. Eldarion was in such shock that he could not make a sound.

There was a wicked cackle and a scarred man with red hair covered by a bandana appeared in front of him, whistling a tune.

"Welcome to our little parade, elfy-boy!" trilled Yuu in excitement. "Held in your honor! My, Sauron-_sama_ was so pleased to know that I had you in my grasp that he had to meet you tonight! Hell, I am so pleased that you could spit on my face and I would thank you for it! Oh happy day!"

Just then the animated corpse of a troll joined the parade, turned to Eldarion, and bellowed at the pointy-eared genin. After he was hit by the worst stench this side of a mass grave in a sewer, Eldarion gladly passed out.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Gandalf was quite enjoying the day, in which he ended up spending much of in the company of Minato. The yellow-haired shinobi was in relatively high spirits after discussing rescue plans with the twins and Imrahil's sons. Gandalf was quite fascinated when Minato recounted one of the hostage rescues he was a part of. The White Wizard had a feeling that the shinobi was not telling them something about the "Uzamaki Kushina", but he discarded the matter without a single thought. Gandalf noted that throughout the day Merry, Pippin, and occasionally Obito were attempting to talk to Minato, but something always interrupted them. More often than not it was one of the Rangers' ill-tempered ponies, which made the Istari wonder what they had done to the beast.

The sun was already going under the horizon when Gandalf found the opportunity to obtain some food for supper. He settled down on a boulder a small distance away from the edge of the camp, and organized his supper of bread and cheese.

"_Finally, a moment of peace,"_ he thought, enjoying the relative quiet. The Istari could feel the tension rising among the men as they drew closer to Mordor. There was a distinct lack of resistance from Mordor as the approached the Black Gate, but it was not unexpected. It had been years since he had been in this part of the world. Other than the obvious, superficial changers, the rocky, shrubby, forest land still had much of the same plant and animal life as it had when he had last visited. The climate was confortable, which was a welcome balm to the disquiet that was the undercurrent to all life in these forests. It was a good place to rest on the eve of battle.

A rustle in the bushes pulled Gandalf from his pensive state. The Istari looked up, and spotted a pair of pale yellow eyes peering back at him.

"Come out, my friend," he said, a small smile gracing his face. "I have some food I can share,"

There was another rustle, and out came a zombie from last night. It was the male with the ripped-out throat, and he appeared to have found some new clothes. The gaudy saffron tunic appeared to have been "borrowed" from an Easterling. The zombie cocked his head to the side like a puppy, dislodging a couple maggots from his rotting cheek.

"_**Do you have lembas, Istari?"**_he asked, staring mournfully at the bread.

"My apologies," Gandalf replied. "Only rye bread."

The zombie blinked slowly, and then deliberately collapsed at the White Wizard's feet.

"_**My wife will be joining us soon. She has a new foot now," **_he remarked in his mental monotone.

Gandalf hummed, taking a bite of his supper and ignoring the stench of decay.

"_**We have been keeping an eye on the elfling,"**_ continued the zombie dully. _**"The Seven have taken a liking to him. But the Master wants him dead."**_

"Is that so?" muttered the Istari, not even bothering to feign surprise at the news. Hoshi did have the appearance of an elfling, and he could think of only one case that an elf had tried to harm an elfling. But obviously Sauron wanted Hoshi dead. After all, the boy did represent a future in which Sauron did not triumph.

"_**Master cannot have him dead yet because the Snake-man convinced the Necromancer that he must meet the elfling first. My wife says that the Necromancer will have him killed in front of other, as a warning."**_

"Oh?" Gandalf said, actually looking at the enlivened corpse. _So the Master is not Sauron. The Snake-man is Orochimaru, but how could he have earned Sauron's ear?"_

"_**At least, that is what my wife told me," **_he uttered softly. _**"She should be here by now"**_

A sudden, ear-splitting shriek tore through the air, ripping the present thoughts from the Istari's mind. The zombie slowly stood up, his rotted face slightly contorting with confusion. Noises of surprise rippled throughout the camp, but they remained distant.

The undead elf slowly turned to face him. _**"What did that mean, Istari?"**_

"I do not know," murmured Gandalf, bemused by the sudden, scared noise. "Someone must have been startled by something."

The wind gently whistled through the air, and the corpse sat down again, staring vacantly at the sky. Gandalf finished off his supper, and pondered the odd shriek.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling in the bushes, followed by a low cooing sound. The zombie perked up, and jerkily gestured for the owner of pale yellow eyes to come out. With strange shyness, the zombie's wife limped out to join her husband.

"_**Does he have lembas?"**_she asked, affectionately nuzzling the male.

"_**No," **_he grunted, running his decaying fingers through her thinning hair.

"_**Did you tell him what we were doing, and what we know?"**_

"_**Yes"**_

The couple was staring deeply into each other's eyes, with the male petting his wife head and the female stroking her husband's chest.

"_**Then we can go,"**_ she remarked serenely. Without a second thought or a word of goodbye, the two undead elves disappeared off into the woods, leaving Gandalf to digest the information and his dinner alone.

"Hello Gandalf, have you seen Minato?"

It took as second for the White Wizard to realize that someone else was with him. _"So much for a moment of respite"_ he thought

"Ah, Merry," he greeted with a smile. "No I have not."

The hobbit sighed, a frustrated look crossing his face. "Where could he be?"

Gandalf watched him pace about for a moment, before allowing curiosity to get the better of him.

"Might I ask why you are looking for him?"

"Simply to suggest a plan of action to Minato for tomorrow," Merry answered, his eyes combing the bushes and tree branches for the missing shinobi. "Pippin is helping me, but neither of us seems to be able to get a hold of him."

The Istari made a noise of sympathy, and idly wondered if he should ask what the Brandybuck's plan was. But as the words were at the tip of his tongue, a noise of sheer panic rang through the air and knocked his question clean from his mind.

"_AiYYYYYEEEEEEE!" _shrieked a yellow blur as it shot past them, whipping up a storm of dust and producing a wind that tugged on his white robes. A moment later, the male zombie shambled into view, just behind the yellow blur.

"_**Excuse me," **_he uttered calmly, holding a scroll aloft after the yellow blur. _**"You dropped this,"**_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**Thank you all for reviewing, but a little thanks to the most recent reviewers.**

dtsth: Thank you, thank you for pointing out a major spelling error! I obviously am blind. I am glad that you still enjoyed the story.

transformice 907 : I am glad that you like it so far.

Riverocks: I am so happy you find it funny! Your comment reminded me that I still had this story to write.

DreamingIn2Eternity : Thank you, THANK YOU for always being there. I cannot give up when someone like you is reading this story.


	36. Chapter 36

**AN****:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing! Also thank you to the favoriters and followers! All the support is appreciated and cherished.**

**If it looks like Tolkien and sounds like Tolkien, it is Tolkien. Sentences and passages were shamefully pulled from ****Return of the King**** and its movie. They are woefully left unmarked. Feel free to play "spot the plagiarism". **

* * *

><p>The next thing Eldarion was conscious of was being hog-tied and lying on a smooth, cold stone floor. He heard the lightly echoing sounds of approaching footsteps that ceased just in front of him. The lanky boy pried open his eyes to see a pair of white-toed feet in black sandals near his face. Then the owner of the feet grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him clear off the ground.<p>

"Hey!" Eldarion yelped, slightly woozy from the sudden change in orientation, but a finger on his lips kept him from protesting.

"I am surprised to see that you are not dead," murmured Orochimaru, a sly smile playing on his face.

"Ha-ha," growled the genin, glaring at the jōnin. "Do you have my necklace?"

With a smooth motion the serpentine man removed the jewelry from a pocket and put it around Eldarion's neck.

"If we survive this, I will tell you how we can use your necklace," Orochimaru commented with a smile. Then he unceremoniously dropped the young Gondorian to the floor.

"Ow! Could you at least put me down gently?" Eldarion complained, wincing. The shinobi merely snapped his fingers, and the "ropes" unwound and the snakes slithered back to their master. The Snake Sannin was wearing a black greatcoat with its hood up, casting his face into shadow.

"Be on your best behavior. Sauron does not usually take kindly to ill-mannered people," he said seriously, turning his back to the elf-like boy and walking away.

Eldarion gulped, but stood up, dusted off his clothes and cloak, and tucked his necklace beneath his shirt. Trembling with barely suppressed terror, he followed the shinobi across the cavernous hall. His grey eyes drank in the high, vaulted ceilings, the stone friezes of battles, and the pillars of stone, crowned with deadly points. The genin's heart pounded in his throat, as each echoing step brought him closer to a massive, ornately carved door. Then Orochimaru stopped walking so suddenly that he ran into the pale man's back.

"You are to let me pass," snarled the Snake Sannin. Eldarion, confused, looked around the jōnin. Two of the Nazgûl, decked in resplendent black robes and fine armor, stood guard at the door, just beneath two banners. They held halberds that were crossed to block access to the door. Eldarion promptly ducked behind Orochimaru, his vision already beginning to blur, and teeth chattering from the cold.

There was an angry hiss from the two wraiths, but an obliging creak as the door swung open on its iron hinges, and the halberds were drawn back. The shinobi walked forth, and the genin quickly followed him. The room they entered only differed from the hall they had left in that it was bathed in a cruel, bright light and that there was a dais and throne opposite of the door. The chill was gone, only to be replaced by an oppressive heat. Eldarion's eyes flicked around, and any windows he could spot were impossibly high up, and the only other exit was the door that he had just walked through. A whine of fear rose in his throat, and he began to pull his cloak about him and sink to the floor.

"Well, well, look what the snake dragged in," drawled a smooth, _terrifying_ bass voice.

Eldarion immediately dropped to the floor, forgetting any pretense of bravery, and cowered beneath his cloak. He measured his breathing, trying to at least keep his calm.

"Actually, it was I who brought Eldarion Telcontar here, Lord Sauron," simpered Yuu.

"But were you not felled by this sniveling little mortal?" returned the Maia.

The Suna nin made an indignant noise of protest, sounding like an angry hen.

"However, as pathetic as you may be, you have yet to fail me. Now, Orochimaru, show me this little heir."

Eldarion felt himself get pulled upright, and his cloak fall away from his body. The lanky child could not suppress a whimper as he was forced to stare into the eyes the Lord of the Rings. He could not look away from that terrible, ancient gaze, but peered into the depths, both curious and scared. Then Sauron blinked.

"You were not lying," he whispered, looking to Orochimaru. Eldarion turned to look at the jōnin, who looked like a cat who had just caught a bird.

"Why should I be?" replied the shinobi in the smuggest tone possible.

The Dark Lord glared at him. "I suppose that you want to keep him alive, do you not?"

"Please refrain from killing me," Eldarion whispered, trembling so badly that his knees were knocking together.

Yuu began to laugh, hard. "Please!" he gasped between guffaws. "Do explain why we should keep the mule alive."

"Because I have more use to the Deceiver alive rather than dead, unlike some reanimated sack of bones here," the Gondorian spat, managing to suppress his trembling for the duration of his rebuttal.

"Indeed?" Sauron slouched in his throne, his utterly terrifying face issuing a challenge to the elf-like boy. "Enlighten me."

Eldarion quailed, unable to gather enough fortitude to meet the challenge. The temperature rose in the room as Sauron became more displeased.

"Elessar has the Ring, does he not?" offered Orochimaru nonchalantly. "And he can turn said Ring against you, can he not?"

"Yes," The Necromancer snarled, his steepled hands tensing. "What does that have to do with his issue?"

"You know better than any other what happens to whoever possesses the Ring, they simply cannot let it go. Thus, when he defeats you, all you have to do is lie low, and wait for Elessar to die." Continued the Snake Sannin.

A sudden understanding of the jōnin's plan sparked in Eldarion's mind. "I will inherit the Ring," he whispered. "You would have to get to me to get to the Ring."

Sauron shifted in his throne. "All you have succeeded in doing is telling me why I should kill you, mutt."

Eldarion grit his teeth, mustered his courage, and gave his most venomous glare to the Dark Lord, even as his vision swam.

"I can be the bargaining chip that guarantees the safety of your precious ring," he snarled. "You can influence Elessar through the Ring to keep a hold of it. What you cannot do is convince others not to destroy it after they see what it has done to him. My life and safety is the ring's safety and your life."

Silence descended upon the throne room, and Eldarion realized just what he had proposed, and who he had proposed it to.

A large, eldritch grin took over Sauron's horrifying face. "I should not underestimate the House of Elendil," crooned the malevolent being. "You do justice to your lineage, little one."

Eldarion promptly fainted.

‡‡‡*‡‡‡*‡‡‡

When the adopted Uchiha once again came to, it was to the worried fussing of Luhtindë and Loenil.

"_Are you alright Gîl?__"_ fretted Loenil. _"__Did the Necromancer do anything to you?__"_

"_If he did anything, than we shall kill him!__" _snarled Luhtindë, her hand clenching into a fist.

Disoriented and befuddled, Eldarion attempted to ask his questions, but was then cut off by that _annoying _voice.

"Alright, alright! The little blue-blood has been fussed over enough!" shouted the red-haired man, kicking and shoving the two elven women away. A two pairs of hands grabbed him, and pulled him upright.

"And you…" the scarred red-head shoved his disgusting face into the lanky boy's. "Don't think that you have escaped your intended doom, bastard."

Eldarion lunged forward, nearly biting the man's nose and dragging his captors forward as he attempted to scratch at his face. The red-head retreated, and a pair of Easterlings surged forward, forcing him into an odd jacket of sorts that forced his arms to hug his body. Finally, he was released, and ungraciously dropped to the dusty ground.

Luhtindë, Loenil, and the five other milky-eyed elves approached him, with various degrees of worry present upon their faces.

"_Can someone tell me where we are, who that was, and what the year is_?" Eldarion grumbled, pulling himself upright.

"_You have forgotten?__"_ remarked Colfinnor in mild surprise, scratching his blonde head.

The boy sighed. _"__Just humor me, please?__"_

"_We are at the Devilish Cross in Mordor, that was our idiot leader Yuu, and the year is…Nénaquen, what is the year?__"_ Harpaner offered, turning to the brown-haired Quenya speaker. Nénaquen shrugged, playing with the handle of his spear.

"_Well," _Harpaner turned back to Eldarion with a shrug._ "I hope that it would suffice to say that Sauron is very much in power, but an army, with his ring, is challenging him outside of the Morranon on the Dagorlad."_

Eldarion nodded, all the important information and memories flooding back to him. _"__It suffices.__"_

The elf-like boy pulled himself upright into a sitting position, and looked around. He and the seven elves were set off to the side of the road leading to Udûn, with Yuu's back facing toward them. Orochimaru stood a couple feet away from him, his white hands bound in iron shackles. An army of corpses milled about the dusky crossroads, waiting for the command to march forward. Yuu stood atop an armed, reanimated hill troll, looking from head to toe a commander.

"Listen up, you maggot-riddled carcasses!" howled the Suna nin at the top of his lungs. "Once we pass though the Carach Angren, you are to hold your place in the column and move with the rest of the army. I do not care if you want to fight alongside your best friend or lover. Once we are inside, we are not changing places. So now, with in your column, grab your partner, and take position!"

The host exploded with noise as the dead scrambled about to find a friend, and retake their position. Yuu slid off the troll's back, and gestured for Orochimaru to join him. The Snake Sannin and the red-head walked over to Eldarion.

"You nine are staying near me. We will be joining the Mouth for a parley, so no funny business." snapped the shinobi.

Eldarion noticed Luhtindë's eyes widen, and Mornano's narrow. The air surrounding the seven seemed to change.

"_We need to get you out of his hands.__" _muttered Arnon, readjusting his quiver.

The other six nodded in agreement. The genin sighed, and let the seven plot. He got to his feet, and prepared to walk into Udûn, the holding area for Sauron's army.

‡‡‡*‡‡‡*‡‡‡

The valley of Udûn was a giant, hellish fortress that was clouded with ash, the persistent stench of rot and bodies, and had the color pallet of a diseased bat. It was packed to the brim with orcs, trolls, and the armies of the Easterlings and Haradrim. Just as they entered the valley, Eldarion could hear the opening and closing of the Morannon. _ "The Mouth must have just left to treat with the rout." _he thought.

With a few confusing commands the columns of the dead slowly took their places in the valley, always the first few ranks to face the gate. Yuu pressed forward until all that remained were the seven elves, three stony dwarves, Eldarion and Orochimaru, and his troll. Orochimaru walked alongside the dwarves, and Eldarion could barely see past the tall elves that surrounded him. The pale boy was not about to complain though.

"_I doubt that I would be pleased to see the valley of Udûn in its full glory,"_ he thought, listening to the symphony of smelting, orc grunts and yowls, and the foreign words for the men. A small comfort lay in Luhtindë's chanting, and the humming of the other six. As they drew closer and closer to the gate, the air surrounding him began to tingle, and carry a strange light.

"_What is going on?"_ he thought, utterly bewildered and definitely panicked.

Yuu seemed to notice what was going on, for he screamed out:

"Stop that right now, you bitch!"

Right then Eldarion's vision was consumed with a blue fire and he felt his being vanish.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Kakashi was getting tired of being of his feet. Early in the morning the host had rose, and marched out to the Black Gate. Once the giant, hard-to-miss gate was in sight, Aragorn had arranged the army onto two hills overlooking the dusty plain below. Then Aragorn and Gandalf decided to ride out to the gate, and Gimli, Legolas, Pippin, Merry, Éomer, Imrahil, the Elf twins, and Minato-sensei were asked to join them. Of course, Sensei decided that it would be a good idea to take Susano'o along with his own student.

"Remind me why he has to come with us Sensei?" the Hatake asked as they ran alongside the horses down to the Black Gate.

The jōnin smiled. "It does no harm. Besides, Orochimaru-san would be most displeased if I did not allow at least one of his students to join us."

Kakashi's eyes flicked over to the copper-skinned genin, who was humming a cheerful tune.

"Anko would have been a better choice," he said with a scowl.

Minato-sensei shrugged. "Drawing lots was the only fair way to choose between them. It is what it is, Kakashi."

They finally came to a halt a fair distance from the gate. The menacing structure looked even more foreboding up close. The spiked, twisted metal seemed to stretch skyward for miles; it was even taller than Konoha's massive gates.

Susano'o made an impressed whistle. "That is one big gate," he muttered.

Kakashi sighed, and prayed that the alcoholic genin would keep his big mouth shut for the duration of…whatever they were doing here.

Finally, after a period of eerie stillness, Aragorn broke the silence.

"Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth!" he shouted at the looming gate. "Let justice be done upon him!"

There was no answer, but apprehension filled the air. Minato-sensei looked at him and Susano'o, who had bullied or bribed the standard bearer to sit on the rump of his horse. Kakashi felt an inkling of jealousy, envying the genin's seat.

_*"Listen closely, both of you,"*_ whispered the jōnin urgently. _*"We cannot attack Sour-on's emissary, even to retrieve Hoshi and Orochimaru-san. That would be breaking the laws of such parleys and treaties."*_

Kakashi crossed his arms, and frowned at his sensei's declaration. _*"What about Hoshi? I doubt that he is guaranteed safety."*_

_*"Relax, Hatake, we can save him without breaking any rules"*_ Susano'o waved his hand, looking self-satisfied. _"Minato-sensei, I understand the spirit of what you said. But, I was part of a conversation between Merri, Pippin, Aragorn, and Obito, and all reached a consensus that you could simply use your Flying Thunder God technique, get our two people, and be back here before they could blink. You can do it at the very end of the negotiations, because no matter what, we will end up having to fight a giant-ass army."*_

Kakashi was pleasantly surprised by the genin's plan, and it appeared that Sensei was as well. But before the jōnin could say anything, the Black Gate opened.

The noise of groaning gears and creaking iron filled the air as a vertical crack grew in the gate before them, as both sides swung out just enough to allow a lone hominoid on a horse to emerge from the ashy greyness beyond the thick gates. The grey-haired chūnin moved closer to the front, curious to see what the emissary was.

The emissary was clothed in elegant black robes, and had a helmet that covered everything save his mouth.

"_What the hell is wrong with his mouth?"_ Kakashi thought. It looked diseased. There were livid gashes that radiated away from the mouth, and what little bit was left of the lips was tainted a bruised purple. He could even see a hint of long, yellow teeth.

The armored horse stopped but a meter or so away from them, and the emissary started to speak.

"My master, Sauron the Great, bids thee welcome," he declared mockingly.

His voice was deep and growling, almost if two lion's voices had been melded together. The gashes stretched as he spoke, and the gruesome lips struggled to form the words. Of course, this mouthpiece for Sour-on had to end with the most blood-curdling smile Kakashi ever had the displeasure of seeing. The overall effect was seen on everyone's repulsed face.

"Who the holy hell are you?" asked Susano'o.

Kakashi cringed. No, apparently the copper-skinned boy couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I am the Mouth of Sauron," he declared, looking upon them with distaste. "Is there anyone in this rout with the authority to treat with me, or indeed with wit to understand me?" The Mouth turned to Aragorn, a nasty look on his face. "Not thou at least!" he sneered. "It needs more to make a king than a broken elvish blade and a rabble such as this. Any brigand of the hills can show as good a following!"

Aragorn did not say anything. He simply looked the Mouth right where his eyes ought to have been, and glared. The staring contest ensued for only a minute, because the emissary recoiled as if he had been hit.

"I am a herald and an ambassador, and I may not be assailed!" he cried, his voice an octave higher in outrage.

Kakashi could not help but stare at Aragorn in awe. _"If that were Hoshi he would have thrown a fit."_

Minato-sensei spoke up. "Usually a herald has enough manners to make the observance of such laws worthwhile." he remarked with a frown.

"However," Gandalf continued. "No one has threatened you. You have nothing to fear from us until your errand is done. But unless your master has come to new wisdom, then you, with all his servants, will be in great peril."

The Mouth leered at the Wizard. "So, then thou art the spokesman, old greybeard? I have a token I was bidden to show thee."

He reached into the depths of his robes, and pulled out a small, brilliant chainmail shirt. Kakashi's eyes widened and his heart dropped. It was Frodo's.

"No!" cried Pippin softly in anguish. Merry made a similarly distraught cry.

"Silence!" commanded Gandalf, looking just as distraught as the two hobbits. Everyone's faces were pale and anxious. The Mouth grinned; pleased with the pain he had brought to the group.

Kakashi, however, felt too distracted by the off atmosphere. There was something wrong. The air around him felt funny, and every time he looked past the Mouth of Sour-on, his vision blurred, then refocused. There was a genjutsu surrounding them, and Kakashi knew he was not the only one who had noticed.

"Something does not smell right about this," murmured Gimli.

No sooner than when the words fell from the dwarf's mouth did a faint, but terrible, smell of decay reach their noses. The grin promptly fell of the emissary's face and he turned around and screamed at the empty air behind him:

"Captive or not, cease maintaining this glamor and for Sauron's sake, GET RID OF THE DAMN TROLL!"

With an audible crack the genjutsu was lifted, revealing a battle going on between Yuu, three zombie dwarves, and the seven undead elves that had visited the camp a few nights ago. There was a dead troll sprawled out to the side of the Black Gate, and the elf with a helmet and one with a hammer fighting an undead dwarf. The red-haired Slivan, the blonde, and the black-haired elf were beating up one of the two undead dwarves, as the other one lay in rock-like pieces. Lastly, there were the two elven ladies, playing keep-away with Yuu, using Hoshi as the item.

Kakashi blinked, shook his head, and looked at the scene before him. Something was certainly wrong with this picture.

Legolas looked over to him. "Is this normally how you take care of hostage situations?" he asked.

The Hatake could only mutely shake his head, floored by the surreal scene.

"Hey Uchiha! It's about time someone put you in a straightjacket!" hollered Susano'o, who looked positively delighted by the scene.

"So that is what this is," Hoshi replied with a surprising amount of calm as he was hurled from the dark-haired elf to the light-haired elf. Everyone watched in fascination as the dark-haired elf set Yuu on fire. The Suna nin was cursing everyone out the entire time.

"Well princeling, was this your plan all along?"

Everyone turned around to see Orochimaru, calmly standing beside Minato-sensei, his arms crossed and a slight frown on his face.

"Trust me!" he yelled as he was yanked away from Yuu. "I had absolutely nothing to do with this!"

The red-haired jōnin suddenly noticed that the Snake Sannin was with them, and fairly exploded.

_*"You cock-sucking son of a whore!"*_ Yuu screamed as Orochimaru cheerfully waved at him. _*"You tricked us! You tricked us, you tricked us, YOU TRICKED US! I am not playing your game anymore!"* _

Yuu weaved a series of unfamiliar signs, and the fighting came to a grinding halt as the seven waterlogged zombies appeared to be bound by invisible chains and dragged toward the Mouth. One by one they arrived by the Mouth of Sour-on, looking murderous, but oddly quiet. Yuu approached the Mouth, holding Hoshi by the scruff. When he arrived, he dropped the lanky genin to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw a piece of paper pass around the rout.

"As you can see, we are trying to offer an exchange," Yuu said, picking at his fingernails. "You see, your little spy can be returned to you, along with this mongrel here," he kicked Hoshi to illustrate his point. "I am sure you know what will happen to the both of them if you do not accept the Necromancer's terms."

A flicker of worry crossed Gandalf's face, and the Mouth grinned again.

"Name the terms," said Gandalf, looking rather defeated. Triumphantly, the Mouth began to list the terms.

The paper continued its round, from Minato-sensei, to Merry, Eomer, Imrahil, Pippin, Elladan, and Aragorn. The ranger passed it to Elrohir, who relaxed, and passed it to him. In two lines, on in a strange alphabet, one in kanji, read a message: "The Eye remains blind. I have worked to ensure Hoshi's safety. All is well."

Relived, Kakashi passed it to Gimli, forgetting entirely about Gandalf. The chūnin suddenly realized he had been so focused on the paper that he was missing the Mouth's little speech.

"-they shall help rebuild Isengard which they have wantonly destroyed, and that shall be Sauron's, and there his lieutenant shall dwell, someone more worthy of trust than Saruman ever was."

There was a brief pause. All eyes were on Gandalf, waiting to hear his decision.

"You stand to benefit much from this," Hoshi commented dryly, looking up at the Mouth. "But that is if you like windy, rainy springs, and many biting insects in the summer. Barad Dûr is not the most pleasant of homes, but I would rather be there than in Isengard during the late winter."

The Mouth scowled at the pointy-eared boy. "Did I ask for your opinion?" he sneered.

The genin shrugged his thin shoulders. "I am simply trying to help you make the best choice possible."

Yuu rolled his eyes at the exchange, but then glared at Gandalf. "Look old man, we haven't got all day!"

The Wizard held his head high, his eyes keen and face inscrutable. "This is much to demand for the delivery of one servant: that your Master should receive in exchange what he must else fight many a war to gain! Or has the field of Gondor destroyed his hope in war, so that he falls to haggling? And if indeed we rated this prisoner so high, what surety have we that Sauron the Base Master of Treachery, will keep his part? Where is this prisoner? There is one here; surely you can spare the other? Let him be brought forth and yielded to us, and then we will consider these demands."

The Mouth faltered, completely at a loss. Yuu tensed, while Hoshi remained relaxed, not looking the least bit troubled.

The emissary quickly recovered from the figurative stumble and laughed. "Do not bandy words in your insolence with the Mouth of Sauron!" he cried. "Surety you crave! Sauron gives none. If you sue for his clemency you must first do his bidding. These are his terms. Take them or leave them!"

Yuu's eyes narrowed. Without a second word he snatched the chainmail from the Mouth and tossed it to Gandalf. "A fool can see that they will take that, and nothing else!" he snapped, his gaze meeting the Wizard's strong stare. "Say what you came here to say! Let's get this over with!"

"I thank you for giving us this," said Gandalf, holding up the chainmail. "As you have said, we will take this, and reject your terms!" He turned to the Mouth, who seemed to be in shock. "Get you gone, for your embassy is over and death is near to you. We did not come here to waste words in treating with Sauron, faithless and accursed; still less with one of his slaves. Begone!"

The emissary's mouth flapped open and shut in outrage, unable to say anything. An easy smile crossed Yuu's face.

"Thank _kami_ this is over," he said, picking up Hoshi by the shoulder, suddenly yanking back the genin's head, and, with the nonchalance of someone picking dandelions, slit Hoshi's throat with a flourish.

"Now I can relax," he crowed, tossing Kakashi's teammate to the side to bleed out.


	37. Chapter 37

**A.N****:**

**Thank you to DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing, and for all those who have favorited and followed my stories!**

**Merry Christmas Eve, Happy Holidays, or Happy December 24****th****!**

**Thank You all for the support and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Gimli was in shock. Really, the only one who was not is shock was that red-haired, slightly undead shinobi that had just carelessly <em>slit Hoshi's throat<em>. The poor boy was lying, sprawled out on his back, gasping helplessly as surprise, panic, and terror flitted across his pale face. Surprisingly, the Mouth of Sauron was the first to recover from the shock.

"What in the name of Morgoth made you do that!?" screamed the emissary as he grabbed the shinobi's collar and dragged him right to his face. "Our orders said that we were to keep him alive!"

"They were not going to acquiesce to our terms! Not now, not ever!" yelled back the man. "The mutt failed to serve a purpose beyond that! I simply taught them not to refuse such terms again."

"You stupid whore!" roared the Mouth. "Do not pretend to have any intelligence! We needed him for our plans! You were there while they were being spelled out! Now, you have ruined them!"

"Ruined them? Ruined them!" shrieked the shinobi. "That little bastard was never going to play within our hands! Not only does his future rely on Sauron **not** existing, he is far too loyal to his people to do anything but bring Sauron down! The mutt has the willpower and the allies to do it! Look at our supposed ally! I know Orochimaru of the Sannin! That bastard hates our guts and is trying to bring us down! This was all part of his plan, which I am trying to foil!"

"Close your filthy mouths!" yelled Legolas, his hand outstretched, and his tone exceptionally menacing. "You, Mouth of Sauron! Return to your master now, or I will cut your head off!"

The Mouth promptly dropped the shinobi, and urged his horse to gallop back to beyond the gate.

Gimli finally tore his eyes away from the vile man and turned them to Hoshi, who was being tended to by Kuro, and being placed on a stretcher by Minato. The dwarf was too concerned with the well-being of the child that he did not even think to question Kuro's sudden appearance. Orochimaru approached Aragorn with a cavalry spear.

"You requested this, Aragorn-sama?" he remarked quietly.

The ranger did not even turn his head as he took the spear from the serpentine shinobi's hand. Orochimaru bowed slightly, then ran over to the two other shinobi. Gimli watched him draw something beneath Hoshi, make a few hand gestures with Minato, then the quartet disappeared with a cloud of smoke.

"Ha! There is no way that mutt is going to live," sneered the red-haired shinobi, dusting his legs off as he rose to his feet. "He is going to bleed out, or suffocate; whichever one comes first really. Good f*cking riddance."

Without further warning, Aragorn thrust the spear into the shinobi's eye. Even as the man's hands grabbed the shaft, Aragorn brought it upright, and the undead shinobi struggled to keep from sliding down the spear. Without any display of emotion, the ranger passed the spear off to Elladan, who took it with a look that worried Gimli. Everyone stared in shock as the twins gleefully pulled the shinobi down the spear, and then tossed him to the seven zombies, who (now broken from their bonds) leapt upon him with the ferocity of wargs upon their prey. Minato and Orochimaru returned, and their eyes widened with shock as they drank in the scene.

"Is Hoshi in a safe place?" demanded Aragorn, his voice devoid of emotion.

"He is," replied Orochimaru, his face blank.

The ranger turned his horse around, and approached the pale shinobi. The two regarded each other for a second, then Aragorn's arm shot out and seized Orochimaru by the throat, lifting him into the air.

"You said he was safe!" Aragorn roared as the shinobi clawed at his throat. "You claimed that you had guaranteed that he would not be harmed!"

Orochimaru coughed, a terrified look in his eyes. "Sauron promised…"

A bitter, angry laugh left the man's throat. Dragging the shinobi to his face, Aragorn hissed:

"Oh, Sauron promised did he? Sauron the Deceiver?"

He tossed Orochimaru to the ground, a fierce look upon his features. "I do not know why I even trusted you," he spat. The ranger turned to Minato, and looked him up and down.

"You are just as bad as he is," he remarked with disgust, before urging his horse forward to return to the host.

Rather brokenly, the yellow-haired man hung his head, and turned to check on his companion.

Gimli exchanged a look with Legolas, who seemed to be just as taken aback by the situation as he was.

"Never, in all my years of knowing him, have I seen Elessar act like this," remarked Imrahil in a hushed voice. "Not even at the height of his temper were his words so filled with venom, or his actions so brutal."

"Indeed," agreed Gandalf as they all began to follow Aragorn back to where the armies were waiting for them. "It is certainly out of character."

"However out of character it may be, it is certainly understandable," argued Elrohir. "Not only was a child deliberately and severely wounded in front of him, it was also a family member and friend being harmed. That may test the civility of any living thing with half a heart."

"He was kinder than he should have been," Kakashi commented quietly. "Yuu deserves more punishment."

Elladan grinned evilly. "We arranged for that. The seven were more than happy to act as his tormenters. It is a shame that we could not take part in the punishment, but it would not do to be consumed with vengeance once more."

Elrohir nodded, and the twins urged their horses on to a faster pace, and rode to catch up with their brother. A sudden, crushing thought entered Gimli's head.

"_Poor Obito,"_ he thought. _"Who is going to break the news to him?"_

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

By the time Rin found the army, she had been running for almost a day straight, with only a brief but refreshing nap to tie her over. Tired, hungry, and a wee bit annoyed, the medic was pleasantly surprised to find Obito and the others so quickly.

"Obito!" she yelled in greeting, weaving between the legs of horses to reach them. Obito, Kuro, and Anko were sitting on a rock, nearby who Rin assumed to be the Captains. Obito leapt to his feet, a look of delighted surprise on his face.

"Rin!" he returned joyfully as she approached them. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to help you get Hoshi back," she answered, before looking around once again. "Where are Kakashi, Susano'o, and Minato-sensei?"

Obito chewed on his lip for a moment, thinking. "They went down with Aragorn, Gandalf, Eomer, and a few others to talk with Sauron or one of his representatives. I don't know when they will be back."

Rin nodded, and released a sigh of relief. So far, nothing major had happened, and she had a chance to take a break. But before she was even allowed to walk over to the rock, Orochimaru suddenly flickered into existence right before Kuro and Anko.

"What the hell?!" Anko cursed, startled. The jōnin snapped something to Kuro, who nodded and flickered off. Orochimaru quickly grabbed a spear from one of the soldier's hands and flickered off as well. Rin, Obito, and Anko were left to stare at each other.

"Looks like something did not go so well," commented Anko with a wince.

Rin could only nod. A wave of worried murmurs swept throughout the lines, as the men began to discuss what they had just witnessed.

Obito turned to her, and looked as if he was about to say something. But a sudden, horrified yell cut him off.

"OH MY GOD!" screamed Anko. Rin ran over to her, and saw that Orochimaru and Kuro had returned, along with Minato-sensei.

"What happened?" asked Obito, confused.

"Hoshi's throat was slit!" answered the shocked kunoichi, covering her mouth in horror. "Oh my god."

Everything seemed muffled to Rin's ears. Without thinking twice, she ran over to her teammate's side, pulling out her med kit as she dropped to her knees.

"What's his status?" she demanded. Kuro gave her a brief, almost relieved glance before he renewed his efforts to slow the flow of blood.

"Unconscious, as expected. I was a deep wound, almost all the way to the spine. Both internal jugular veins and common carotid arteries were severed. Trachea, severed. Esophagus was partially severed. I have a seal that will act as a substitute to the trachea and blood vessels, but it only lasts for ten hours." The Uchiha reported bluntly.

"Do you only have one?" Rin asked, concentrating her chakra, and placing her hands on the ruined throat. Hoshi's chakra pushed back against hers, stubbornly refusing to accept the healing grace it brought with it.

"Yes," Kuro ground out between clenched teeth. "But with our luck, his body will reject it, and we would have wasted it."

Rin was gritting her teeth as well, forcing Hoshi's chakra to yield, and her chakra to move forward, and urge the cells to fix the damage.

"Do you have anything else?" she asked, forcing even more of her chakra forward.

Kuro's eyes lit up. "Oh! It was just recently released from clinical trials. It's basically liquid oxygen, and a human can live for almost thirty minutes on the stuff being injected into their bloodstream. I'm not too sure how long that would be for Hoshi, but it doesn't rely on chakra!"

The Uchiha lifted his hands off Hoshi's neck for a second, and a wave of Hoshi's chakra slammed into Rin's, causing her to yelp.

"Sorry!" he replied, quickly replacing his hands. "We need Strider, or someone else who practices Elvish medicine to help us or Hoshi's dead! He is not healing fast enough to be saved by just us."

"Positive thoughts, Kuro!" Rin yelled back to her fellow medic. "We have to think positive thoughts!"

"_He is correct though," _she thought miserably._ "We need to find someone to help us soon, and to get Hoshi moved to a safer place. We are on a soon-to-be battlefield, for god's sake!"_

For now, the medic gritted her teeth, and returned to forcing her teammate to heal.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Obito stared at his wounded foster brother, not quite registering the bloodied neck, jaw, and chest and the half-closed eyes that were the result of the slit throat. The Uchiha felt his hands clench and unclench repeatedly, and his eyes and throat burning with the treat of crying. A series of thoughts rattled around in his head, but Obito was not willing to concentrate. It was not until Halbarad and a young Dúnedain, approached them out of curiosity that he was firmly jolted out of the state of shock he was in.

"What is going on here?" asked the man, before spotting Hoshi. "Sweet Eru!" he whispered in shock, covering his mouth with his hand.

"My brother was captured by an ally of Sauron, and supposed to be released as part of the treat I guess," Obito remarked dully. "Obviously something went horribly wrong."

"Your…brother?" questioned the other Dúnedain. Obito faintly recognized him. It was the one with an interest in cameras, Teithon.

"Foster brother," the Uchiha clarified, looking over Hoshi once again. His eyes widened when he saw the bloodied chain of Hoshi's beloved necklace peeking out from beneath the bloody collar of his cloak and shirt. The wheels in his head immediately started turning, recalling that pendant had the ability to heal, if one could tap into its power. Hope began to return, even as the two Dúnedain began to recite the same prayer of mourning that Legolas had made when Merry and Pippin were lost. Soon Gamling and Forlong had joined them, curious and worried.

"Oh the poor boy!" exclaimed Forlong, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "Sauron is going to pay for this, and for many other deaths he has brought about!"

There was a sound of hoof-beats as the members of the rout returned. Obito stayed by his teammate and clan-member, watching them struggle to heal Hoshi. At one point, Kuro pulled out a syringe, attached a needle, and injected half of the fluid just below the jaw, and the rest into the leg. He then tossed it aside, and continued to place pressure on the sluggishly bleeding throat.

"What are you all doing in a circle?" Obito overheard Eomer ask.

"Hoshi's throat was slit. Rin and Kuro are attempting to heal him, although it appears to be rather futile," replied Gamling sadly.

There was a sudden intake of breath from the people surrounding them, which was curious enough to make Obito look around him. Everyone who had returned from the rout had a look a faint fear except Aragorn. The ranger looked like he was about to stab someone.

"Orochimaru," he said with a calm monotone. "You told me that he was somewhere safe."

The serpentine shinobi sneered. "This place is safe. Besides, it will take more effort to take him to a safer place, and I am intending to help him. Contrary to popular belief, we are not gods, and we cannot perform miracles."

Aragorn fixed a vicious glare upon the jōnin, who slowly lost his bravado and began to shake, and his aggressive expression dropped to one of fear. Susano'o quickly jumped in between the two, holding his hands up.

"Whoa, whoa. You both have to calm down!" insisted the copper-skinned genin. "Sauron is going to have his army on our behinds soon enough, so Sensei, go help Hoshi, and Aragorn, calm down and worry about the present. Hoshi is going to be just-"

There was a sudden yelp from Kuro and Rin. "Son of b-, that wasn't a listed side effect!" screamed Kuro.

"Fine," finished Susano'o, wilting slightly with defeat. Orochimaru's eyes widened with panic.

"What did you give him!?" he yelled, rushing over to them.

Obito turned back at Aragorn, who looked oddly lost. Halbarad approached him, a worried look on his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Aragorn shook his head slowly, and took a shuddering breath.

"No," he whispered. Obito redirected his attention to Minato-sensei, who was slowly drawing out some sort of seal around Hoshi and his healers. Kakashi filled in the gaps, occasionally glancing at Hoshi, whom Orochimaru was placing jutsu after jutsu upon. The Snake of the Sannin was growling in frustration, as each technique failed to do much of anything. Suddenly he was shoved out of the way by Aragorn, who wore a look of intense concentration on his face. The tall man started to go to work, and Obito noted the expressions of relief on Rin's and Kuro's faces.

"Elessar, what are you doing?" demanded Imrahil, distressed. "The Black Gate is going to open at any moment! I understand why you are doing this, but you cannot be the one to do it!"

Aragorn stubbornly ignored the prince; all of his attention was focused on healing Hoshi.

"Aragorn!" Eomer yelled. "Get back on your horse, please! You are needed here!"

Obito's eyes began to dart between the men, and an overwhelming feeling of dread began to overtake him. Common sense told him that Aragorn was crucial to the upcoming battle, but it did not seem that the man had any interest in participating if he could heal his son. The Uchiha could not fault him; hell, he'd do the exact same thing. But what was more important?

"Look Strider!" screamed Anko, sounding almost panicked. "You really need to get back on that horse, and be a King, not a healer! The mother-f-king gate is beginning to open right now! Leave Hoshi NOW!"

"NO!" he screamed back, his voice cracking with emotion. "I cannot leave him! I do not want to spend the next 16 years knowing that my son will die here!"

Minato-sensei then reached out and slapped him across the face. "Pull yourself together!" he yelled, grabbing both of Aragorn's shoulders. "You have a duty to fulfill and Hoshi will be downright pissed if you do not fulfill it! We will make sure that he receives care and makes a full recovery! I can take him to Minas Tirith, or Lothlórian. Rin and Kuro will stay with him. Do. Not. Worry. About. Hoshi! And that is an order!"

There was a moment a silence as wind whistled through the plain and over the hills, picking up the dust for a whirl. Minato-sensei released Aragorn's shoulders, a tired look on his face. The ranger leaned down to Hoshi's face, whispered something, then stood up.

"Take him to Minas Tirith. I cannot guarantee that Lothlórian is free from attack," Aragorn ordered softly.

Minato-sensei nodded, and with that, he and Orochimaru clasped each other's hands in the seal of confrontation, and vanished in a flash.

Obito dully watched Aragorn return to his horse. The man seemed to have gotten a hold of his emotions. However, the Uchiha was just beginning to truly cry. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder, but that did not do anything to stop the tears. He simply listened as Aragorn and the other leaders barked out orders, not honestly comprehending them.


	38. Chapter 38

Kakashi stood by his teammate as the commanders milled around them, preparing for the approach of the army from the Black Gate. There blew a horn that sounded quite like the horns of the Oliphant Riders, but it came from just beyond their left flank.

"Oh for crying out loud, please tell us that we are not being surrounded," bemoaned Susano'o.

The Hatake looked about, and was taken aback to see _oni_ approaching them from their right flank. More seemed to bleed from the mountains surrounding the gate. He grabbed Obito's shoulder tightly and drew him back. Kakashi's eyes flicked around, assessing the battlefield. As before, their forces were divided upon two hills. One hill was composed primarily of the men under Eomer and Imrahil's command, and the other contained Forlong's men, the Northern Rangers, and the rest, all under under Aragorn and Gandalf's command. Currently he and the other shinobi were in the small dip between the two hills, which was just big enough to act as a barrier between the two groups. The soldiers were moving out of the dip, and both groups moved to form a circle, with spears facing outward. Kakashi's eyes flicked between the two hills, unsure where to exactly go. He spotted Pippin with Imrahil and others near the base of the hill, facing the Black Gate. Merry was obviously still with Eomer, wherever the Rohir happened to be. Legolas and Gimli were in the same position on the other hill, along with the elf twins and the grey-cloaked company.

"Where the hell do we go?" asked Anko, as the quartet slowly began to fall into Manjii formation. "You're in charge now Kakashi. What do we do?"

The Hatake frowned. "We should split up. Two of us should go to one hill; two of us should go to the other."

"Then what?" demanded Susano'o. "Where on the hill shall we go? And what jutsu are we allowed to use?"

"Use what works!" snapped Kakashi. "You and Anko shall focus your attacks on helping Imrahil on the right hill, while Obito and I will focus on the left hill. Assist where you can and follow their orders. Go!"

They peeled off, running toward the gate, each to their own hill. Mordor's armies approached and surrounded the hills, like a terrible black flood. Obito made a beeline to Gimli, a grim, determined look on his face. Kakashi ran over to Aragorn, who was at the very base of the hill with his brothers.

"Your teachers are not back yet," remarked Elladan quietly.

The Hatake shook his head mutely, staring at the advancing enemy. He wished that he had the foresight to set some traps, even if they were only razor wire, explosive tags, and _makibishi_.

A sudden, most unwelcome shriek sliced through the air, heralding the arrival of the Nazgûl. There was a tangible shift in the men, as fear began to deeply set in. The urge to flee was almost too great for Kakashi, and he felt his feet move without his approval.

"Hold your ground!" roared Aragorn, his voice somehow rising above the din, as he turned around to face the men. "I see it in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day! This day we fight!" his eyes flicked from face to face, as if the ranger was addressing each man personally._ "_By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!"

His courage having properly returned, Kakashi was able to set himself in a proper stance, and stared the oncoming army down. Aragorn had returned to facing the army, a menacing look on his face.

"For Frodo!" he whispered.

Kakashi grit his teeth and drew his father's _tantō_, ready to attack the undead trolls charging towards them.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Minato felt his chakra drain as they appeared in the bathroom doorway of Gandalf's townhouse. Kuro and Rin were still struggling to keep Hoshi from bleeding out, and Orochimaru was actually attempting to help them. The Snake of the Sannin was forcing Hoshi's weak hand to grip the pendant of his necklace, which still hung around his bloody neck, and the jōnin made several strange sequences of hand seals. After a minute of simply sitting in the door jam, watching Orochimaru get progressively more frustrated, Minato tentatively asked him a question.

"What exactly are you doing?" he quietly asked.

The other jōnin released a growl of frustration and released Hoshi's hand, which continued to loosely grasp the pendant.

"I suppose you do not know that the necklace contains a great healing power. Unfortunately, Hoshi is the only one who can access it out of anyone here in Minas Tirith. I hoped that I could facilitate a reaction that would make him do it unconsciously, but obviously he can only access the power while conscious," Orochimaru sighed, actually looking worried. "An elf or his father would be able to do this, but we have access to neither. Do you still have that vial of _oni_ blood?"

Confused, Minato searched his pouch and pulled out the small container. Orochimaru snatched it, and with a brush, started to write out a strange tag. The yellow-haired shinobi looked on, curious. He heard Kuro curse, causing him to look in the Uchiha's direction.

"Sensei! Hoshi needs oxygen!" he cried, looking worried. Rin was utterly focused on the open wound, not even glancing up at her fellow medic. Wordlessly, Orochimaru took a kunai and cut the front of Hoshi's shirt down the middle, and firmly placed the tag on Hoshi's breastbone. With the brush, saturated in _oni_ blood, he made a swift line up from the tag to the genin's mouth and nostrils, encircling them, and back down the other side, returning to the tag. The thick dark line suddenly faded into a parade of strange letters, and Hoshi's chest visibly rose. Kuro exhaled, relieved, then waved them off.

"Go back to the battlefield, sensei. You are of better use there. The tag should be just enough." He said, just as he returned to work.

Orochimaru nodded, and motioned for Minato to follow him. The jōnin followed him to another room, but not before glancing back at his two students.

"Do not worry about them," Orochimaru remarked dryly. "Rin is more than capable, and someone has plans for Hoshi. The little prince is going to be all right. Now, tell me that you can flash back over to the battle."

Minato searched his mind. "I believe that I placed a tag on a stone where we parlayed. The tag will still be on the stone, but I cannot guarantee the stone will be in the same place.

The Snake of the Sannin's face contorted into the most blood-curling grin. "Do not worry too much about that. As long as we are close to the gate, we shall be fine. Nobody shall make a fool out of me and not pay for it."

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Merry stood with his sword drawn alongside the mounted Rohirrim. He felt very small indeed, being the only one in the vicinity without a horse. The Brandybuck had no clue as to where he stood on the hill, as he had left the company of Eomer some time ago. He could feel a slight slope to the trembling ground beneath his feet, so Merry guessed that he was farther up the hill. There was a tense hush about the men, who sat with their spears ready. Anticipation and fear roiled about in his gut. Being unable to see the approaching armies made the feelings worse. A strong wind blew into his face, carrying the heavy stench of decay. Merry tamped down his urge to gag as the men around him made noises of disgust. He was oddly curious as to what could be causing the stench. Then the Brandybuck remembered the zombies, and the still-twitching limbs of long-dead corpses. A feeling of utter horror filled Merry, and he began to shake, his knees knocking together.

Then at that moment the red-haired Silvan zombie appeared before him with a muted flash of blue fire, fear, and a spray of fetid swamp water. Merry screamed in shock, which was muffled by the damp corpse's hand over his mouth. Absolutely none of the riders around the hobbit turned to see what was going on.

"You are a hobbit, yes?" It asked, its milky eyes boring deep into Merry's own. Frightened and confused, the Brandybuck nodded.

The zombie flashed a toothy grin. "Good! We have need of a hobbit. Come with me, yes?"

Merry was absolutely taken aback. All he could do was make a squeaking noise, which was taken for a yes. The zombie grabbed his wrist, and dragged him though the lines of men and horses down the hill. Merry swore that he caught of glimpse of Anko, standing atop a horse's rump, and Eomer shouting a few commands. But finally he and the zombie broke through to the front line, and Merry looked upon the plain before the Black Gate with horror. Approaching Imrahil's company at breakneck speed were a company of hill trolls, armored with helms and breastplates, some even with maces.

"_Pippin is there!"_ Merry remembered, horrified. But before he could further contemplate or act on the dilemma, the red-head yanked him up, and placed him on the back of a decaying horse.

"We need to distract the dead, yes?" the zombie remarked, jumping onto the horse behind him. "They get distracted by small things: children and hobbits. The one who commanded all the dead had us go after those two things. And we will say you have the ring!"

"Now just wait a minute!" Merry cried, outraged. "I did not agree-!"

He was cut off with a sharp command from the zombie to the horse, which took off at an amazing speed. The steed ran straight into Mordor's host, of both orcs and walking dead. Merry readied his sword, and he heard the nocking of a bow behind him. Two other dead horses closed in upon them, one carrying the helmeted zombie, the other a gleeful brunette with a spear.

"_Look upon us and be afraid!__"_ the two shouted triumphantly in their strange dialect of Elvish. _"__We guard the one with the Ring! We bring it to be destroyed!__"_

The red-head that had gotten Merry into this mess yelled triumphantly, cursing Sauron in his own tongue:

"_Glob búbhost Sauron!"_

For good measure, the zombie made what Merry could only assume was a rude gesture.

The Black Riders circling above them must have heard the insults, challenge, and blatant lie from the zombies, for they all screamed in unison, and spurred their fell beasts into a dive right towards them, even as they approached the army.

Merry winced, and then turned to face the red-head. "If I die then I will make sure that you die for good as well," he snapped.

The reanimated corpse of a Silvan Elf smiled. "Hobbit won't die." He said coyly.

Suddenly a wave of smoke appeared, issuing from near the Black Gate. The ground briefly shook, and, for the briefest moment, stillness fell upon the battle. It was then promptly broken by a Black Rider's enraged scream being cut short, and the massive purple snake emerged from the rapidly dissipating smoke.

Merry gaped at the familiar creature in shock. "Manda!" he cried.

The snake had the fell beast in its mouth, with Orochimaru and Minato standing atop his head. Its coils were crushing half of the force that had emerged from the Black Gate, and it surveyed the battlefield.

Merry swore that he had faintly heard Anko scream "Whoo! You go Sensei!" clear across the muffled din of battle.

Then he was suddenly hoisted into the air and thrown.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Minato already regretted returning to the battle. Not only did he have to fight alongside Manda, but his opponents were eight Nazgûl, (counting the one in Manda's mouth), and way too many zombies. Orochimaru looked as if he was also regretting his decision to return as the seven other demonic creatures swooped toward them, brandishing swords and magic in equal measure.

_«"So Orochimaru, who am I not supposed to kill?"»_ demanded the snake, sounding annoyed.

"The men on those two hills are our allies," the Snake of the Sannin answered, moving himself into a crouch.

_«"The people with the banners of a tree, horse, and swan?"»_ Manda causally queried as the Nazgûl began to close in.

"More or less" answered Minato, trying to squash the potent fear that was part of being around the hellish creatures.

_«"Did I ask you, toad?"» _he snapped._ «"The next time you presume that you are worthy of addressing me will be your last"»_

Then without a warning, Manda lurched forward into the Nazgûl with a ferocious hiss. Orochimaru, wielding Kusanagi, used the momentum to hurl himself forward and attack the creatures. Minato was more than content to allow himself to fall backwards, and slide down the snake's back. He readied and threw a series of _kunai _and _shuriken_ out upon the enemies below with a smattering of the odd explosive tag here and there. Manda's arrival had certainly done much to draw the attention and effort of the opposing host, as many of the orcs and Sauron's mannish allies were diverted to attack the massive serpent. Aragorn, Eomer, and the others were still hard pressed by trolls and all sorts of undead. The only positive thing about the zombies was that, like Hoshi predicted, they were rather slow.

Minato took a moment to look skyward, and to his amazement an entire convocation of summon-size eagles was taking apart the fell beasts and the Nazgûl. Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen, and Manda was moving northwards at an amazing pace.

The summon then suddenly and rather quickly flexed his coils in such a way that Minato thought it to be more prudent to abandon the snake and risk the undead, many of which seemed to be distracted by something. Curious, the jōnin threw his special knife and teleported near the spot, which was somewhat in-between the distance from Manda and Eomer's hill. Several _oni_ yelled in pain when he landed upon them, and exploded with a well-timed infusion of chakra.

"_Hello mister sun-hair!__"_

Minato whipped around to see who was talking to him, and unabashedly shrieked when he turned and looked into a pale, dripping zombie-elf face that was **thisclose **to his own. The blonde corpse, moving in a manner not unlike Legolas, stabbed two incoming _oni_ with long knives over Minato's shoulder. With a fluid motion, it sheathed them, and turned to catch something thrown to it. The zombie went back to face him. It had been smiling the entire time.

"_You will help us protect the hobbit, yes?__"_

A rather dazed looking Merry was shoved into the shinobi's arms. The smiling blonde zombie-elf returned to dicing up his fellow undead and the occasional orc. Minato shook his head, doing his best to regain his wits.

"Look out!" yelled Merry.

The jōnin reflexively leapt into the air, and handily landed atop the heads of the _onis_ who thought they could double-team him. The now dead creatures began to collapse, prompting Minato to jump to another pair of semi-smooth heads. The next thing he knew he was aimlessly wandering about the battlefield desperately jumping from head to head.

"What were you doing out here?" he asked the hobbit, who seemed to be utterly baffled by the entire situation.

"The elves said that they need to use me as a distraction for the zombies," Merry grumbles. "I am not entirely sure that was necessary. They did somehow become nicer between our first encounter and now."

Minato was about to reply when he was suddenly snatched by the utterly pissed off living incarnation of fear and its fell beast. Magic rolled off the Nazgûl in waves and began a horrifically speedy drain of his chakra. His vision began to swim, and he only distantly felt metal-encased hands draw him upwards onto the beast's back, and something being slowly slipped on his finger…

Suddenly all of his chakra was returned to him. Minato looked over to see Merry with an outrageously elongated Kusanagi in his hands, and a now headless Nazgûl. The hobbit was utterly gob-smacked.

"It just fell point down, right in front of me, so I grabbed it and decided to behead him," Merry said, shocked. "I had no idea that this sword could do that."

Minato nodded, dumb with shock, and removed the sword from the hobbit's hands. It automatically shrunk, turned into a snake, hissed at him, and disappeared with a baleful look.

"Let's get off this creature and return to the men," the jōnin suggested.

Just as those words left Minato's mouth a crippling pain and fear invaded his mind, causing him to collapse onto the beast's fortunately broad back. The other Nazgûl shrieked and their beasts automatically wheeled toward Mordor.

"Frodo, you SON OF A BITCH!" yelled the jōnin through the haze of pain. The Nazgûl must have deliberately placed its enchanted ring on the shinobi's finger.

"_Of course it could not leave me be, that evil thing!" _Minato thought as he clutched his head as the image of a volcano was relentlessly hammered into his mind with the phrase that roughly translated to "Get your arses over to Orodruin THIS INSTANT you worthless SONS OF BITCHES, or so help me Melkor if you FAIL!"

As the jōnin was endeavoring to keep his skull from splitting open, Minato failed to notice that something was wrapping around him, and that Merry was all but seizing out of worry and panic. Really, the next thing he was honestly able to notice was that he was lying on his back with white bandages loosely wrapped around his body.

"Are you okay, Minato?" Merry asked, lingering over him with a concerned look on his face. A pained expression glimmered in the hobbit's eyes.

The sunny-haired jōnin slowly sat up, noting that he and Merry were loosely lashed to the feathered body of Susano'o albatross.

"I thought that you went mad," Merry continued softly. "But then Anko pulled off the ring on your finger… You saw what Sauron sees," the hobbit finished, slumping in defeat.

Minato deflated as well, a feeling of doom overcoming him. The albatross swooped low, turning southward to the Black Gate. The jōnin did not even try to attack the orcs, even when they were well within striking distance. He saw trails of white chakra arcing through the sea of dark, stained heads, fire spurting forth from the base of the small hill, and the occasional explosion in the midst of their enemy. Minato did not see any of the people from Middle Earth falter in their struggle even as the last of the Nazgûl escaped the engagement of the eagles. They were planning to die with their swords in their hands and giving a figurative middle finger to Sauron. The shinobi admired their courage as they stared into their doom. Both he and Merry were drawn out of their morose musings by the sudden and dynamic arrival of Anko and Susano'o.

The two leapt upon the albatross' back, and the bird immediately soared upwards, corkscrewing away from the ground. Both genin were arguing with each other.

"It is settled!" snapped Susano'o rather desperately. "Hoshi is from another universe where this stupid plan WORKS! We have to find a way to get everyone out of here!"

"What makes you think that everything has gone down the toilet?" demanded Anko sharply. "We came in late to the game; we don't know the guy that has the ring. This could be part of an elaborate scheme."

"No Anko!" snarled the genin in his gruff voice. "The arrival of us shinobi must have upset the balance of things too much."

"Are you suggesting that we are going to be the victims of unstable-universe-implosion?" the kunoichi shrieked, looking both incredulous and terrified.

And at that moment, Mount Doom erupted.

**AN****: **

**Thank you to KittyWillCutYou, DreamingIn2Eternity, and Guest for reviewing the chapter! Thank you to all who followed and favorite this and other stories of mine. Sorry for the late update! Hopefully my next update will be more timely.**


	39. Chapter 39

**AN****: Thank you to Guest and DreamingIn2Eternity for reviewing the previous chapter, and enthugger and jerricho11 for reviewing! Thank you to all who followed and favorited this story. Apologies again for the lack of speed in which this chapter was put up. Anyways, Thank you for all the support, and on with the show!  
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><p>Gimli had just cracked open the 40th orc's head when the ground beneath him began to tremble. There seems to be a general freeze among Sauron's army as a loud, screeching noise fills the air. Suddenly, the orcs and trolls began to flee away from the Black Gate, not even trying to engage their supposed enemies in battle. The ground continued to shake, and a noise like shattering glass and crumbling stone met the dwarf's ears. As his line of vision cleared, he could see past the open entrance into Mordor upon the collapsing tower of Barad-Dûr.<p>

"_Frodo's done it!"_ Gimli thought gleefully, as the quaking in the ground increased. Before his eyes the dread tower imploded, and a dark, strong wind hurled towards them, shattering all stone in its path. The warm force hit Gimli square in the face as he watched the undead dissolve into dust before his eyes, and carried west-ward by the wind. The ground crumbled before the armies of the west, leaving them miraculously untouched as many orcs fell to their deaths. Gimli shook his fist in triumph and elation.

"_Sauron is gone!"_

Then he saw Mount Doom erupt.

"Oh no," muttered Obito, who had appeared beside him, a look of concern on his face.

A shadow passed over them, and the noise of wing beats sounded overhead. Then wheeling off, three eagles with Gandalf mounted upon one's back headed toward Mount Doom. Two others headed south towards Minas Tirith. Gimli looked around. Casualties were surprisingly light for their side. The giant purple snake was still about, chasing and hounding the diminished armies of the eastern men. An albatross flew towards them, landing between the small hills that held the armies of the West. Merry, Minato, and Anko just about tumbled off the bird; Merry and Minato looking shocked and anxious, and Anko singing and preforming a little dance.

Gimli turned to Obito, who looked rather stunned.

"What are you thinking about laddie?" he asked the boy.

The blue-clad child sighed, a small smile on his face. "I can see why Hoshi is so proud of his world. All of you just stood up to this evil being, and _won_!" he gave a small laugh, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I wish evil things were as obvious back at home as they are here."

"Evil here is not always as obvious as who is an orc and who is not," pointed out Gimli, leaning on his ax. "I have actually had the pleasure of meeting some Easterlings for business, and they were not any sort evil, even though their people worship Sauron as a god. Look at Wormtongue. He is from Rohan, but is as evil as they come."

"Good point," agreed Obito, pocketing his knife. Gimli noted that Aragorn and his lieutenants were rounding up and doling out orders to the men. The Captains on the other hill seemed to be doing the same. Legolas trotted over to them with his horse, with Kakashi perched in his saddle.

"How fare the both of you?" asked the elf, looking concerned.

Gimli shrugged. "Just a few bruises and a possibly sprained foot. Yourself?"

Legolas shrugged. "Only a few bruises. Kakashi here had his toes broken and his wrist sprained."

The aforementioned boy scowled (or something like that) as a smug grin passed over Obito's face. Somehow, both boys refrained from insulting each other. Minato and Merry staggered over to join them. A haunted look flashed in the shinobi's blue eyes.

"What happened to you laddie?" asked Gimli, curious.

Minato held up a rapidly corroding ring. "This happened to me," he grumbled.

Everyone winced. "He put his companion ring on you, did he not?" asked Gimli.

Minato nodded. "Finally that murderous collection of black cloth is gone!" he declared.

Everyone nodded in relief, and stood in a moment of silence for a moment. Then Aragorn rode up to them.

"How do you all fare?" he asked, a mildly relived look on his face.

Merry looked like he was going to say something when he was cut off by the arrival of Anko.

"Pippin was nearly crushed by a troll!" she declared, with the aforementioned hobbit slung over hers and Susano'o's shoulders. "And we think that he is unconscious, with cracked ribs at most."

"Kakashi has broken toes and a sprained wrist," Obito eagerly added.

"In conclusion, none of us have serious injuries," stated Legolas. "And yourself?"

Aragorn shrugged. "I am unhurt. Have any of you received any information on Hoshi?"

The shinobi exchanged looks. The ranger seemed to slump a bit in his saddle, but his expression did not betray any inner distress.

"We can check as soon we make camp," replied Susano'o. "I have the radio and they have a radio at Gandalf's. We will inform you when we get in contact with them."

Aragorn nodded his thanks. "We are heading to the Field of Cormallen for a rendezvous with Gandalf in two days' time. If you can help us gather up our dead and tend to our wounded that would be greatly appreciated."

With a slightly distracted farewell the man rode off elsewhere. Gimli stretched, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright then," he said. "Let us get to work."

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

After Minato-sensei and Orochimaru-sensei left, Hoshi's condition slowly began to worsen. While the seal had worked to keep oxygen flowing in spite of the gaping wound, Rin found that nothing she could do would stop the persistent bleeding. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she forced her remaining chakra to be accepted by Hoshi's stubborn cells, and only for it to go wasted as more blood spurted onto her hands.

"We need to get his chakra up Rin," said Kuro tiredly. The Uchiha had worn himself out to the point that he could no longer preform any jutsu.

"I know," she choked out. "But how?"

Even as the words left her mouth Hoshi went limp, and a last, rattling gas of air left his mouth and throat. Rin simply stared down at her hands as Kuro futility checked for a pulse.

"What do we do now?" whispered the Uchiha, his voice thick with emotion.

Rin shook her head, unable to speak. The two medics simply sat beside the body in silence, utterly lost.

She felt the ground begin to shake, and only by looking up and seeing the rest of the room tremble alongside her did Rin know that it was not her grieving mind composing the scene. She and Kuro exchanged a glance, and Rin stood up to look out of the eastward window.

She gasped to see the shadow of a volcano's eruption, and knew immediately what had occurred.

"Kuro!" she cried, somehow forgetting her grief. "Sour-on is gone!"

Rin whirled about to see her fellow medic's reaction, only to see what had him enthralled. Hoshi's stubborn wound was healing itself. Rin ran over to her teammate, not daring to believe her eyes. Hoshi's fickle faint glow was about him, but this time it was utterly unmuted, reminding her of the light emitting from the Lady Galadriel.

"_It seemed ages ago since we saw her,"_ she mused while watching new muscles and veins form and connect at their proper places.

"What is doing this?" murmured Kuro in wonder, as skin was layered on and the wound closed. All that remained was a visible, reddish scar that stretched the length and breadth of the original slit. The scar was even patterned in a manner that was akin to a tattoo.

Rin felt her jaw drop, and her eyes sting with angry tears. After all their efforts, the wound healed all on its own, entirely in vain.

"What was the purpose of that?!" she screamed at the ceiling. "Why did you heal him only after death? You jerk!"

Suddenly, a feeling of amusement filled the room. Rin suddenly froze, feeling a presence in the just about empty house.

"_Something actually healed Hoshi?" _she thought, frightened.

"Look at Hoshi's hand!" hissed Kuro in frightened amazement.

Rin looked down, and saw that it was tightly clenched around the pendant of his necklace.

"Please don't count me out just yet, Rin-san," rasped Hoshi, with barely open eyes.

Eyes overflowing with happy tears, the medic scooped up her teammate and squeezed him tightly.

"Don't you dare get lost like that on me again!" she whispered.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Obito felt tears of relief come into his eyes as Rin joyfully recounted what had happened over the radio. The sun was setting by the time that they had finally had reached their place of encampment. It was not the Field of Cornmallet, or whatever Aragorn called it. In fact they were still a 12-hour's march from it. Even so, they were far enough that Aragorn called for a halt, which was greatly appreciated by the small group that was able to keep up. So, Obito and Kakashi sat by the edge of the camp with the radio as the northern rangers set up camp to their liking, for most of the Rohirrim and all of the Gondorians were left in the dust.

"How are all of you?" Rin asked, her concerned voice crackling over the radio.

"We are all alive," replied Kakashi seriously. "No major injuries suffered. Can you sign my petition to change the standard shoe to closed-toe shoes?"

Rin laughed, which made Obito grin wider. "Can we speak to Hoshi right now, please?" he begged.

The other end went silent but for the static. "Rin?" he prompted, worried.

"He left Minas Tirith some hours ago. He took Kuro with him, but Hoshi did not seem to be exactly himself," Rin replied, sounding slightly worried. "He took off while I was visiting Eowyn and Faramir at the Houses of Healing, just before the two Eagles arrived to spread the news. Luckily Kuro left an intelligible note. Hoshi is visiting Lady Galadriel."

Kakashi frowned. "Why would he need to visit her?" he asked.

"He might be flashing between times again," suggested Obito thoughtfully. "He did mention that Lady Galadriel is like a Yamanaka. If his mind is all scattered, then maybe she can piece it together."

A look crossed Kakashi's face before hiding behind the mask of indifference. It puzzled Obito, but he did not press for a revelation.

"I just hope that Hoshi was revived with all of his pieces," replied Rin quietly. "Otherwise there is no hope of getting him back."

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Eldarion desperately tried to maintain his slippery hold on reality as he and Kuro flew off to Lothlórien. But the currents of time pulled at him strongly, and his _hrón _was more than willing to release his _fae_ to the stream and symphony that was the history of all that was in his world… and in the shinobi's world.

Before his eyes he saw Bilbo exchange riddles with Sméagol in the dark, which violently shifted to another scene in a cave that was coming down, with Rin, Obito, and Kakashi running past him. Then he was violently slammed into a vision where Kyuubi was having a staring contest with Minato-sensei on Gamabunta, which devolved into the elf Glorfindel throwing down a Balrog upon the Encircling Mountains. The whole scene deteriorated into Gimli singing to the White Tree in a dress, whereupon his body decided to rescue his lost spirit and pull him back to reality.

"Thank the Sage that you are back!" cried Kuro, looking nervous. "Lothlórien is just before us."

Eldarion nodded, his head swimming. His poor relative did not look so good, being covered in blood and missing his eyes…

The pale boy did a double-take, and was relieved to see that all he saw was a vision. The relief lasted a total of five seconds before the feeling of portent set in. Doing his best to pull himself together, Eldarion managed to ask Sokel to land just at the edge of the Golden Wood. It was very near where they had said farewell to Galadriel and received their gifts.

"_Except for Boromir," _he thought bitterly as he alighted on the grass. _"All he received was the cloak."_

A flood of tears began to leave his eyes, and Eldarion collapsed to the ground sobbing and gasping.

"_Oh Eru what have I done?__" _he sobbed into his hands_. "__I killed him. I knew his death was coming and I allowed him to die. But what else could I have done!__"_

He felt his shoulder being shaken, and insistent words from Kuro. Eldarion pushed his volatile emotions down and stood up, trying desperately to remain in control. He looked up, and before them stood a very concerned Haldir with four other elves.

"Amras!" cried Kuro, approaching an elf that stood to Haldir's right. "It is good to see you, though the circumstances appear to be too similar to be good."

Eldarion remembered the elf, who was at Helms Deep with Haldir, and around for his episode of madness.

"_Fantastic," _he though miserably_. "He must think that I am of ill mental health."_

The elf smiled widely back at Kuro. "A similar star shines upon our meeting then!" he declared.

"Lady Galadriel is expecting you…_Eldarion_," interrupted Haldir, an emotionless expression upon his face.

Eldarion flinched. He was in trouble, deep trouble. Once again he felt alone and lost as he followed Haldir into Lothlórien, as Kuro had abandoned him for Amras' company. They walked until it was only Haldir leading him, as they arrived to the guest area where the Fellowship had stayed a great many months ago.

"Wait here until Lady Galadriel fetches you," ordered Haldir. With a nod, he departed.

The pale boy collapsed cross-legged to the ground, and buried his face into his hands as a gentle breeze wound through the _mallorns_.

"_What news do you bring, o wind, to pain my grieving heart?"_ he mumbled bitterly. At those words a mighty gust tore through the trees and blasted Eldarion in his lightly freckled face. A warning was carried in the wind, but once more it was not something that he understood.

"If you have a message of some import to bestow upon me, I suggest that it should be conveyed in a simple manner instead of howling it over my head," he grumbled to the air. "Then again, since when have the Valar listened?"

Eldarion was taken aback by the air around him making a noise quite like a miffed huff. The next thing he knew the current of time once more pulled his _fae_ from his body, and dragged him along to drift on the winds alongside a lovely boat among seabirds. Eldarion closed his eyes and pulled a face, knowing what he had been pulled to observe.

"Do you mind returning my _fae_ back to my _hrón_, if you please?" he asked, somewhat exasperated. "I think you know that was a one-time thing with Eärendil the Mariner."

Eldarion suddenly felt the…well, presence, for lack of a better term, vanish. He opened his eyes, and was greeted by a pair of _Sharingan_ staring into his own. He yelped, and recoiled at the red eyes, which looked nothing like any of the _Sharingan_ that he was familiar with. Malice, bitterness, and madness emitted from those reddened orbs. Eldarion looked their elderly owner up and down, unable to place him.

"_Listen," _commanded the Uchiha. _"In this world, whenever there is light, there are also shadows. As long as the concept of winners exist, there must also be losers. The selfish desire of wanting to maintain peace causes wars and hatred is born to protect love"_

Eldarion stared dumbly at the old man, utterly confused by what he was hearing. The Uchiha mad a sort of scoffing noise, and gloom surrounding the elderly shinobi grew. It enveloped the man until all that was staring back at him was a _Sharingan _upon the surface of the moon.

"_What in the world…" _Eldarion thought. "Why is the moon an eye?" he muttered.

"_Sorry?__"_

The genin blinked hard and shook his head, his blurry vision refocusing to reality and seeing a vaguely familiar face.

"_I was just seeing things__,"_ Eldarion plainly told the elfling, who was staring intently at him. The silence stretched out, fraying his patience and nerves. In an effort to keep from snapping at the elfling, the genin tried to start a conversation.

"_Faelon was it?"_ he asked, pasting a too-wide grin on his face. _"__How has been the Golden Wood?__"_

Faelon earnestly smiled back at him. "Do speak in Westron, for I need the practice. It has been very quiet since you and your companions left. How fare the hobbits and Rin?"

Eldarion felt his face beginning to hurt as he maintained the grin. "Rin is well. The hobbits are all alive, though they have been greatly changed by the challenges they faced. Thanks to their courage Sauron is gone."

The brown-haired elfling gave a little jump and clapped her hands in glee. "He is gone?! Truly?" she cried, rushing over and grabbing his hand, her face so close to his that Eldarion could count the pale freckles that dotted her cheeks.

Eldarion nodded, his smile now strained. "Truly," he replied, mentally begging for Lady Galadriel to arrive and save him from the overwhelming happiness. Indeed Faelon was skipping around, singing a hymn of praise to whomever it happened to concern. The elfling finally stopped her whirling when she realized that the pale boy was not celebrating

"What is troubling you Eldarion?" she asked, a perturbed expression on her face.

At that moment his prayers were answered as Lady Galadriel glided over to them. Eldarion scrambled to his feet and smoothed his clothes. Faelon straightened up and put on the most grave expression. The Lady of Lothlórien regarded the elfling with a kind expression and with the briefest of nods. Faelon smiled and bowed, before turning to Eldarion.

"Take care!" she chirped, before skipping off into the trees. Lady Galadriel's eyes slid over to regard the pale elf-like child before her. Eldarion looked at his feet, not wanting to meet her eyes.

"You know that I cannot read your thoughts unless you give me permission," she remarked gently.

"But do you know why I am here, my Lady?" Eldarion replied quietly, looking up at her without challenge.

She chuckled, surprising him. "We are kin, Eldarion, and you are quite alone in your situation. I can permit some familiarity between us. It will do no harm."

She started to walk, and Eldarion immediately began to follow her.

"As for why you are here, I only can guess on what the mirror shows me, and it…is erratic in regards to you," continued Galadriel calmly. "You might have come to me to help understand your experience."

"That is indeed part of it," Eldarion replied as they walked down a flight of stairs. Before them upon a pedestal was a silver basin, a little ways away was a spring within the roots of a _mallorn_, and beside the spring was a silver pitcher. The Lady of Lothlórien perched herself upon a tall root, and gave him an expectant look. Eldarion promptly sat cross-legged before her, feeling very much like a student.

"If you can tell me what happened to you, then I may be able to help," she said kindly.

Eldarion nodded, and restlessly stroked his throat. "I had my throat slit, and multiple people tried to heal the wound; Rin, Kuro, and Ada all tried. But Ada had to lead his forces, and Rin and Kuro did not have the abilities that could save me in time," Eldarion shook his head, his eyes becoming blurry with tears. "So I died."

Galadriel made a noise of sympathy, and motioned for him to sit in a certain way. His vision blurred further with a wave of gratitude, and he sat in front of her as she undid his messy braids and combed his hair.

"After that the events I undergo become rather…strange. You know as well as I do that the fates of Men are uncertain. All I could understand at the time was that I was no longer alive, and something was…" he struggled to find a word, waving his hand in hopes of grasping one out of thin air. "Pulling, and pushing, but with no force behind the action. I could see, but I could not see as we normally do. Suddenly I find myself on the floor hall, and I feel as if the wind has been knocked out of me and that I had fallen from a great height onto my back.

Eldarion paused, taking a moment to stich and gather the scraps of memory and self that were not being tugged about by time. Galadriel was now tenderly braiding his hair, and a feeling of calm washed over him. Now composed to his satisfaction, Eldarion continued.

"At first I thought that I had simply woken up from being passed out. But the feeling, the…dead feeling, made me realize that I was not where I was supposed to be. That feeling and the fact that no less than ten, very dead elves had surrounded me and were talking amongst themselves, was what clued me in."

A sudden thought entered his head. "Have you ever met Mandos?" he asked.

"I may have only seen him once, so many years ago," Galadriel replied.

A small smile crossed his face. "I may have met him, and he is not what I had expected. But I digress. I was basically terrified at that moment, because I was not sure what was going to happen to me. Obito has talked to me about what his people believe would happen to you in the afterlife, and their afterlife easily disturbs me. The push-pull feeling was still around me, but I could not leave, or even move much. The most I could do was sit like I am sitting right now. I do not know how long I sat there, but I was unable to speak, so all I was able to do was listen to the elves try to figure out who I was and I was there."

"Did Mandos address you at any point?" asked Galadriel.

Eldarion made a face, found the memory and flinched. "He was not in the hall when I arrived, but he came soon enough. No words passed between us, but when he looked upon me…" Eldarion shuddered. "I do not think that the Valar feel as we do, but Mandos seemed to be greatly disturbed and slightly horrified by my presence. It was hard to tell with how he looked. Whatever his emotions were, he sealed me into a pot."

Galadriel stopped braiding. "Námo sealed you into a pot?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yep. That is what I was told," Eldarion replied.

After a moment of silence, the Lady of Lothlórien asked: "Who told you that?"

The pointy-eared boy thought about it, searched his memory, and ended up drawing a blank.

"I do not know," he remarked, confused. "As a matter of fact, that is the last thing I consciously remember. That, and adding some good Cheddar to harvest offertory, at least for this year. Next year we need to put in elk cheese."

Galadriel made a small, non-committal noise, and resumed braiding his hair. They sat in silence for a while, and stood when she was finished.

"You possess an unnatural amount of luck, little one," she remarked. "Eldarion, you are displaced in time and space, which is how you ended up in the wrong wing of Mandos. If it was not for the fact that Námo needed to give you permission to leave, I believe that you would have been dragged though the shinobi's afterlife, and then deposited into the Halls during your age, and continued on to your doom."

Eldarion blanched. "Thanks be to him," he whispered.

Galadriel gave him a small smile. "As for your _fea_, it is as complete as it ever was. I am guessing that will continue to escape from your body until you return home. Shun violence, for it will leave your _hrón_ without your soul, and you will be meeting Mandos again. You cannot stay here overlong, for then your body will reject your soul, and you will die."

"Then how long can I stay?" asked Eldarion, worried.

Galadriel gave him a look that made the elf-like boy feel as though his soul was being laid bare before her.

"You can stay away from your home for two years. Any longer and you will be as dead as everyone at home believes you to be," she declared grimly.

Eldarion felt as if his great-grandmother had just stuck him. "Wha…how? How do you know that they think that I am dead? It is the mirror, is it not? They cannot have given up on me so quickly!" he stuttered, pointing and gesturing in agitation. Galadriel remained silent, which upset him even more.

"Tell me, please!" he begged. "Tell me what else you are hiding from me as well!"

A deeply saddened look passed over the face of the Lady of Lothlórien. Eldarion stopped his begging, and managed to muster his manners.

"I apologize. I should have never thought to ask." He said, subdued.

A sad smile crossed her face, and she reached out, and gently stroked the side of his face.

"It is time for you to return to your comrades. I shall see you at my granddaughter's wedding. Until then, fare thee well, Eldarion."

Galadriel glided out of the little clearing, leaving Eldarion to compose himself, and find Kuro.


	40. Chapter 40

**AN:**

**Thank you DreamingIn2Eternity and Guest for reviewing! A big thank you to all those who follow and favorite, as well as those who just read.**

**Sorry for the wait, I sincerely hope that I am more timely next time.**

**Thank you all for the support, and on with the show!**

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><p>Aragorn was grateful for the growing quiet as dusk fell, for it gave him a reason to look back at the day's events. And what a day it was! After millennia or so of struggle, Sauron was finally vanquished. Frodo and Sam were both alive, but in dire need of healing. He had placed them both in a deep sleep to allow both mind and body to recover. They would only come out of the sleep when sufficiently healed, and Aragorn was unable to guess when they would awaken. Their wounds were deep and would not be healed in a day, if ever at all.<p>

It was a relief to remove the heavy armor, and he gladly left the suit in his tent. While Aragorn would never admit it, he was privately pleased that the Gondorians and the main body of Rohirrim were in another camp. He wanted to celebrate the victory with his kin and close friends first. The ranger wandered aimlessly about the edge of the camp, keeping a weather eye out for the shinobi. None of the foreigners seemed to be about. He reasoned that they would prefer to use the radio in a more secluded area, as to keep from bothering others and receiving unnecessary questions.

"_Wherever they may be, I hope that they receive news on Hoshi's health,"_ he thought, worried, glancing off into the trees.

"Aragorn!"

The tall man turned around to find who called him, and saw his cousin eagerly approaching him.

"Why are you over here?" asked Halbarad, his eyes alight with happiness and a spark of curiosity. "Come join us! This place is perfect! Cellin has brought his fiddle and Hwindir somehow managed to bring a vihuela."

Aragorn tried, and failed, to find a reason to refuse. Halbarad easily read his face, and clapped him on the shoulder with his remaining hand.

"Let us go then!" he declared, leading Aragorn into the camp.

The ranger regarded his cousin as they passed the tents. The older man was in high spirits, even though he had lost his left hand.

"_At least it is not my right!"_ he remembered Halbarad remarking. _"I feel as though I have been let off gently and with a warning. I think if the fates were different, my life would have been taken instead of my hand."_

Aragorn was very glad that the fates were what they were, but his cousin's words had given him food for thought. The celebration was further away than expected, for only now was he able to pick up the din raised by the song, music, and, of course, dance. Aragorn noted that there were more campfires closer to the celebration, and as the way forward grew brighter, and the noise louder, the energy in the air increased. Both men almost unconsciously walked faster, and Halbarad was even beginning to hum along with the song. Aragorn saw that they were approaching a rather flat rock of impressive size that was surrounded by the rest of the northern Dúnedain, a good many of the Rohirrim, and his friends and brothers. The energy issuing from the group was infectious, and a feeling of anticipation began to build up in Aragorn. Soon they were at the edge of the group, and before Aragorn could properly take in his surroundings, he was pulled up onto the rock and into the dance. Without hesitation, but with a noise of protest, Aragorn joined the fast-paced dance. There was little opportunity to pause and think, especially when the tune changed, swords were brought out, and he found himself as the lead dancer in the frantic, acrobatic sword dance favored by the north-eastern villages. Even so, he found himself laughing, and eagerly losing himself in the dance. Each new dance soon blended into another, and the music never seemed to lose the energy that filled the air. Songs came and went, though he gladly sang along to the one that accompanied the tapping step dance from the southern villages. The music, dancing, clapping, stomping and singing seemed to be getting wilder and wilder and wilder… Then, without warning, the music stopped playing. Everything else ground to a halt soon after, leaving Aragorn and many others in a state of confusion. He turned around to face the Cellin and Hwindir, and saw that there was a third musician.

"Sorry for stopping the fun," apologized Cellin, who was gently patting the third musician on the back. "But our flute player needs to have a breather."

The small flute player was gulping air as if he had just run from Isengard to Edoras, his posture was bowed, and he was clenching the flute tightly in one hand. The flutist made a noise like coughing, and snapped upright. He brushed the dark hair and braids out of his face and delivered a sheepish smile and a shy wave.

"Sorry about that that," he rasped, before seeming to choke, and briefly lapsing back into a series of coughing and gasping.

Aragorn stared at Hoshi in disbelief, unable to actually trust his eyes. Then Hoshi, while gasping for air, made eye contact and smiled at him. Without a second thought, Aragorn strode up to the boy and embraced him. Hoshi returned the embrace, to the point it seemed as if they were both trying to crush each other. When they finally let go of each other, Aragorn realized that everyone was staring at them.

"Chief, is there something we should know?" asked Hwindir, an insinuating look on the man's face.

Aragorn had no idea how to respond to the remark. It seemed that Hwindir was not alone in wanting an answer. Elladan and Elrohir were giving him a look, demanding an explanation.

"It is a bit…complicated." He supplied, still thinking of what else to say.

Glances were exchanged among the men, then they turned back to him.

"We have all night," Halbarad, eye brow raised, replied on the behalf of the entire company.

Aragorn sighed and glanced over at Hoshi, hoping that the boy would have an answer of some sorts. Instead, the boy was staring up at the starry sky with a witless grin on his face.

Luckily, the silence was broken by the most unlikely of saviors.

"My," remarked Orochimaru as he glided into the area, causing heads to turn. "Did somebody die?"

Then Obito appeared, pushed his way through the crowd, and paused to regard his adopted brother. The boy, looking anxious, cautiously approached Hoshi, and lightly rapped the other boy's forehead with his knuckle.

"Hello Hoshi? Anybody home?"

Hoshi, without turning his gaze, replied with a giggle: "Nobody's home here, just like nobody's home here." He reached out and rapped Obito's head.

A giant smile crossed the shinobi's face, and Hoshi looked at his brother, and the two embraced.

"Thank God you are alright!" Obito cried. "Rin and Kuro said that you died!"

Aragorn felt something within him had gone cold. The men were all staring at the two boys, who seemed to be utterly oblivious.

Hoshi pulled a face. "I am not entirely sure that I died…" he replied pensively.

"Hoshi, trust me, your heart stopped beating and you were not breathing," Kuro walked onto the rock, immediately followed by the rest of the shinobi. "By definition you were dead."

Aragorn realized that his hand was clenching into a fist and that he was grinding his teeth. Kuro made the mistake of making eye contact with the furious ranger and promptly hid behind his cousins.

"Hey, Strider!" the boy squeaked. "I don't think that we should be getting all upset. Hoshi is still alive, and that is what counts, right?"

"Wait a minute!" cried out one of the younger rangers. "If you truly died, what was it like?"

An older ranger cuffed the youth upside the head. "Do not be rude," he growled.

"How is that rude?" the youth replied with a whine.

"If you want to know, the experience was not painful," Hoshi replied airily. "But the rest a bit hard to explain, considering that my temporary doom was abnormal."

Aragorn could not resist. "How was it abnormal?" he asked.

The pale freckled boy turned to face him. "I can give you a full explanation later if you wish. The short of it is that I was not supposed to be dead. As I am displaced in time here, that leads me to be displaced in time and space upon death. Considering what happened, I can tell you that we visit Mandos' halls upon our death, and where we go elves are not allowed to be. When I died I ended up where the elves were."

"Did you tell them that you got lost?" asked Kakashi with a hint of a smirk.

Hoshi pulled a face. "Very funny Hatake. Anyway, can we stop talking about my so-called death?"

"Wait!" yelled Anko, her hand shooting into the air. "You said that you were displaced in time and space, so when you died, you ended up in the wrong place. Was something trying to put you in the right place?"

Hoshi merely nodded, a wary look on his face. Anko proceeded to grin, looking really excited.

"That means that you would have gone through our afterlife if you were not returned here!" she cried.

The boy promptly blanched, causing the shinobi to snicker. "Thank Eru that I was returned, then," he said, before giving his head a little shake. Hoshi scanned the small crowd with a smile.

"Where are my manners?" he remarked. "Permit me to introduce myself. I am called Hoshi, currently reside with the shinobi, and I am from the Fourth Age." The boy proceeded to bow before them in the most theatrical manner. "And before anyone asks, yes, I am a relative of Aragorn." Hoshi added with a smile.

There was a murmur among the rangers, and Aragorn could see many more of them drawing conclusions. The few Rohirrim present merely nodded, more interested in observing the Dúnedain. Elladan and Elrohir were conversing with Gandalf, who looked quite amused. Aragorn noticed Elladan tear away from the conversation to face Hoshi.

"With all due respect, nephew, why in Morgoth's name are you here?"

At that, the Dúnedain burst out with eager shouts, many along the vein of "I knew it!". Hoshi looked absolutely baffled, and even glanced briefly at him. Aragorn held out his hands to silence the men, and the shouting slowly died down. Everyone looked at the boy with interest, waiting to hear what he said.

"Why AM I here?" he muttered. "Would I like to know! Why am I here, but not there, wherever "there" happens to be..."

Obito sighed and shook his head. "Hoshi, I don't think he was asking for you to wax philosophical."

"Indeed, but it was not like we were actively trying to be here," Hoshi replied, waving his hands around. "We just, we were in the land of Earth, and then we were in Moria. You know how I got into your world is more or less the same thing."

"Wait, so all you foreigners are from a whole different world, not simply a different country?" One of the youths blurted out.

Orochimaru chuckled, wearing a condescending expression. "But of course we are. Did you think that we were simply from some far-off land perhaps that unexplored continent to the south?"

Minato pulled a face at that remark. "Well I would have made the same assumption. Didn't we assume that Hoshi was simply an orphan from some tribe living in the Land of the Wind?"

The serpentine man waved his hand. "He is too unearthly and unlike us to be from our land,"

"However, it does not seem to me that he was so unlike you that you shinobi were unable to adopt him," pointed out Gandalf calmly.

Minato nodded, a giant smile on his face. "That is very true. We have some pretty strange and unearthly people back at home.

"Hoshi was merely being added to the collection, on the off chance that he had some potential." Susano'o muttered.

Legolas snorted. "I had a feeling that you did not adopt Hoshi out of the goodness of your hearts," he grumbled.

"Indeed, there were some politics behind my adoption," Hoshi interjected quietly. "Minato, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi took me home with them because they were not going to leave me in the desert to die. I was allowed to stay in Konoha because I proved that I could be useful to them."

Aragorn frowned. He had a feeling that the overall politics surrounding the shinobi were based on the fact that these people were supposed to be weapons. If a weapon was broken or lost and could not be reclaimed, it was discarded. The same would happen to a weapon that could, and was, used against them.

"What would have happened if you did not prove useful to them?" he asked quietly.

"The Council would have him executed," Kakashi replied dryly. Obito immediately smacked his teammate.

"Ow!" the masked boy glared at Obito. "Aragorn asked what would have happened to Hoshi if he did not prove his worth and that is what was going to happen! You know that, and so does Hoshi!"

"Yeah, I do know that," hissed Obito. "But we did not need to say it like that!"

Aragorn sighed. "Do not think that I am surprised by that. It does not sound that there is much room for kindness in your world."

Another Dúnedain spoke up. "It seems to me that your people would fit right alongside Sauron's."

Orochimaru's eyes flashed dangerously. "Who said that?!"

"ALRIGHT EVERYBODY!" Hoshi yelled with forced cheer and enthusiasm. "It has been a long day, and I am sure that EVERYBODY wants to get some rest. Sauron will still be gone in the morning, and we can have a great big party when we meet up with Imrahil and Eomer in Cormallen. So for now, we can go to sleep, and enjoy a time of PEACE."

There was a murmur among the crowd, and nobody moved an inch. Aragorn looked around, noting that Orochimaru was still searching for the one who had offered the offensive opinion, and his students were subtly preparing to restrain him.

"Do I need to repeat what the boy has said?" he spoke into the deepening night. "As much as I dislike the sudden end to our festivities, we need to cool our heads, and prevent exhaustion and elation from making us animals. These shall be times of peace; I do not want a fight between allies to taint their beginning."

Finally, the men began to disperse, with the Dúnedain heading to their tents, and the Rohirrim walking off to their end of the camp. Aragorn noted that the shinobi, his brothers, his cousin, and what remained of the Fellowship stayed.

"See Hoshi," remarked Susano'o snidely. "This is why you aren't invited to parties."

The child ignored the insult, shifting about on his thin legs and staring up at the stars instead. The boy looked strangely content, which put Aragorn at peace.

Elrohir approached Hoshi, his face open yet filled with uncertainty. "You seem to be accustumed to being treated as some sort of ... pawn."

Hoshi shrugged. "It comes with the birthright," he said quietly, wandering closer to Aragorn. The ranger went to Hoshi's side, and the boy promptly snuggled into his side, under his cloak. Elrohir gave him a look, but Aragorn shrugged, absentmindedly stroking Hoshi's head.

Minato looked slightly confused. "Birthright? But I thought that you had an older sister?"

Obito shook his head slightly. "They skip over girls in Gondor," he replied with a loud whisper.

The shinobi shot him a glance, and Aragorn nodded. "Women tend to be left out of the line of succession, in both Gondor and Arnor. I even think that Gondor has forbade for the crown to pass to a women, which is rather ridiculous, considering the havoc it would cause if a king were to only sire daughters, and lacked any close male relatives."

Gandalf made a humming noise and looked at Hoshi. "It seems to me that some are gladly attempting to cause such havoc."

Anko pulled a face. "But why go for Hoshi? No offense Strider sir, but if I wanted to disrupt the line of succession, I would go after you."

"Why would a wolf go after a fawn instead of a stag?" Aragorn replied. "I am a difficult target to bring down, especially since I am quite popular among the common folk. Hoshi's death would cause... less disruption, politically speaking, then mine."

Aragorn was not entirely happy with the direction the conversation had turned, but Hoshi did not seem to be particularly distressed. Pippin and Merry, however, looked rather concerned.

"We don't quite think that every attempt on his life has to do with you or you status Strider," Merry remarked quietly.

Kuro straightened up. "Would this happen to have anything to do with this Boromir guy?"

Suddenly Hoshi tensed, surprising Aragorn.

"Keep your misbegotten mouth shut Kuro!" he snarled, glaring at his poor cousin

"Hey!" Aragorn frowned and gently tweaked the boy's pointed ear. "Do not be so rude."

Hoshi looked up at him with a pout, his grey-blue eyes begging like a puppy for sympathy. The ranger was struck with how elven the child looked in the starlight.

"Boromir, as in Faramir's brother?" asked Susano'o, dragging everyone's attention toward him; his face suddenly contorting with anger as he looked at Hoshi. "You killed him didn't you?!"

"He did not!" cried Pippin, infuriated. Merry nodded his head in agreement.

"Hoshi may not have tried to save him, but he felt that Boromir could not be saved without consequences," argued the Brandybuck.

Susano'o scoffed. "Well that's going to come back to bite him in the ass,"

"You think I am unaware of that!?" snapped Hoshi, still hiding behind Aragorn's cloak. "This whole experiance is looping around to my time, affecting my life! I already catch enough flak for being who I am; I have no desire to face the consequences of my actions earlier than I have to."

Gandalf chuckled sadly at that. "It seems to me that you have already faced those consequences."

The brisling child deflated at those words. "I suppose that is true." he murmured.

The ranger winced internally at those words. It disturbed him that his son was so ill protected from plots and violence, and that there was little he could do to change that situation. Indeed, the boy had made his bed, so to speak, and was well aware of what he was doing. Attempting to fix Hoshi's mistakes will do him no favors.

Elladan calmly broke the meloncoly silence. "It is my opinion that my nephew simply has a talent for landing himself in all sorts of trouble." he remarked rather firmly.

There was a chuckle from the shinobi, all who were shaking their heads.

"That is a truth!" declared Minato. "When we brought him back to Konoha, my students and I were taking turns keeping an eye on him, and the first thing he does is get out of our sight and go to the most dangerous neighborhood."

Kakashi shook his head. "I am still surprised that absolutely nothing happened to him. You cannot go into that area and leave without having something stolen or being injured."

Hoshi pulled a face. "It really is not that bad. You just have to look like you live there and make friends with the ladies that work there. The ladies are really nice, and pretty good at playing cards."

The expressions on Minato and Orochimaru told the ranger several things, mainly that befriending those women was not a wise idea.

Obito threw his hands into the air in exasperation. "Hoshi! Mom has asked you not to talk to them!"

"Why does it matter?" the boy protested in return, sounding honestly confused and a mite exasperated. "I talk to women like them all the time in Minas Tirith!"

That surprised Aragorn. "Do you really?" he asked.

Hoshi nodded.

Merry and Pippin exchanged glances. "Do you know exactly what those women do for work?" Merry asked hesitantly, looking as if he did not really want to know the answer.

"Well, Obito's mom calls it "the oldest profession", so it must be something important," Hoshi replied with a shurg.

Gandalf burst out in laughter, tears streaming down his cheeks as he laughed for several minutes straight. It took a moment for Aragorn to realize just what profession was being referred to; he could not help but glance over to his cousin, who seemed to be rather amused by Hoshi's innocent remark. The hobbits looked rather confused for a moment, and then made a small noise of realization, and rapidly adopted an incredulous expression. His brothers and Legolas remained bemused.

Minato looked thoroughly embarressed. "Well, I suppose that this particular euphamism does not translate across cultures."

Legolas's eyes were darting from person to person, his face wearing a look of absolute mystification. "Are those women hunters?" he asked.

Aragorn sighed. "A cultural equivalent for elves does not exist, as far as I am aware."

The twins suddenly winced, fixing Hoshi with a look. "Why on Arda would you be talking to these women?" asked Elrohir.

Hoshi looked up at him, and then at his uncles, his eyes looking both bewildered and apologetic. "I befriended many of their sons, and they happen to be rather nice people."

"So what is the profession of these women?" cried Legolas, still searching for an answer.

"Alright princeling," said Gimli, his arms crossed. "Does the word 'prostitute' mean anything to you?"

There was another prolonged moment of silence as Legolas digested the information, peppered by Gandalf's and the two hobbit's amused chuckles.

"Those women?!" the blonde elf cried, utterly shocked, even shuddering for good measure.

Minato chuckled. "I suppose that you are a popular target of theirs?"

"They do not listen to reason!" Legolas cried, before turning to face Hoshi. "Why are you even associating with them?"

The boy blinked owlishly. "Is it unusual to associate with the mothers of your friends?"

Susano'o quickly thrust his hands out, palms facing them. "Hold up! You are obviously a person of rank in your own time, so what the hell are you doing running around with people that you out-class?"

Obito sighed. "If you actually listen to him talk about his social life back in Minas Tirith, you learn that he does not exactly get along well with people that share his social class."

The copper-skinned boy snorted. "Why? It's not like they go around calling him a mutt."

There was prolonged moment of silence, with both Obito and Hoshi fixing their fellow shinobi with a strong look. Susano'o looked slightly taken aback.

"They really do that?" he remarked quietly.

"Among other remarks," Hoshi replied with feigned nonchalance. "Let me put it this way. It was said, to my face mind you, that I would be among fellows with the children you say I out-class, as our mothers have something in common."

"What! Who said that?" Aragorn growled, furious. _"How dare they."_ He thought.

"I cannot say," Hoshi said solemnly. "Although I knew it was an insult, I do not quite understand what she was trying to imply. Honestly, she did me a favor, so a week or so later I thanked her. Then I aired all of her family's dirty laundry."

Obito chuckled. "Is this the lady who was cheating on her husband with the wife of a butcher?"

"No, that was the one who called me dumber than a cave troll," Hoshi replied blithely. "This was the one whose husband was stealing from the taxes he collected, and dabbling in money laundering."

Elladan broke his infuriated silence. "How often do you hear those insults?" he asked.

"Not that often," the boy replied thoughtfully. "They usually come from the same bigoted mouths, and only so much can be done to change their minds. Mind you, these insults are said only in front of my sisters and myself because we are children. We get back at them, though."

Aragorn noted something from those words. "It appears to me that neither you nor your sisters report any of these insults to me or your mother."

Hoshi shrugged. "It is my big sister's policy, and I agree with her. Bringing such stupid remarks to your attention when we are able to deal with them ourselves really is not worth your time and effort. Besides, a vast majority of women either like or are neutral to _naneth_, so it is not an indication of something insidious."

"Pardon me," asked Merry. "But how are you getting back at these people?"

"Blackmail," grunted Kakashi.

"and Rumors," added Obito.

"One must not forget legitimate criminal charges," finished Hoshi rather primly. "That is my big sister's preferred route. In fact, it is the only one she uses. I go for the other two."

A shaky laugh escaped from Aragorn's lips. "No wonder there are so many attempts on your life!"

"It also explains why you are so nosy," Pippin added.

"And why it's hard to like you," finished Susano'o with a smirk. Obito punched the copper-skinned boy's arm, which did little to diminish his grin. Hoshi simply stuck out his tongue.

Elrohir sighed. "How many go unpunished?" he asked.

"For their insults?" asked Hoshi. "Well, my sister has a sort of three-strikes policy, so if it happens to be an one-time thing, then she curses them with nightmares. The second time is a direct warning from me and the third we air their dirty laundry. We have taken care of all of them."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly, looking to Minato. "It is a pity that the Uchiha decided to take Hoshi in. He would have done well in ROOT." He murmured.

"Do not suggest such a thing!" The boy cried, whirling around to face the man, his face bloodless and his eyes haunted. "_Seppeku_ is preferable to merely existing as a part of that…that damned organization! Ha, forget death; it is like you have never even existed!"

A slight frown crossed the serpentine man's face. "Aren't you being rather harsh?" he asked.

"HARSH?!" Hoshi shrieked. "They wanted to recruit me because, in the Elemental nations, I am f-cking untraceable! No way in hell was Danzō ever going to let me go home, he would just kill me when I outlived my usefulness. I HATE that man! He just does not care about innocent lives or peaceful solutions!"

Orochimaru scowled at the boy. "That is because he cannot afford to consider those options-"

"Spare me the spiel!" snarled Hoshi, interrupting the astonished shinobi. "I have already heard it. Danzō and I have come to an understanding. I see him as a villain because of his methods, while he sees me as a liability."

"Not anymore," remarked Kakashi. "Thanks to you, Konoha can strike at Iwa's heart without having to move through enemy territory. You have won Danzō over with this gesture."

The boy pulled a face. "Which leaves us with some issues-"

"That we will discuss in the morning," Aragorn interjected. "I think that others would agree that it is time for us to turn in."

Minato's bright eyes darted from face to face. "Well then, my students and I will bid you all good night! See you in the morning!"

Obito waved Hoshi over to him, and the lanky boy darted over to his brother, after saying:

"_Good night!_"

Orochimaru made a soft noise, and disappeared. Kakashi was already trotting after Minato, and Obito and Hoshi were following a distance behind.

"Good night!" declared Anko mid yawn, dragging her quiet teammates behind her. "Let's party hard another day."

Gandalf, Merry, and Pippin said their farewells, and Gimli and Legolas soon followed them back to the tents. Aragorn found himself walking back with Halbarad and his brothers.

Halbarad chuckled. "That boy is something. I wish you all the luck with him."

"He worried me," remarked Elrohir quietly. "He is a mite too vengeful for his age."

"I think that is because he is quite the grudge-holder," replied Elladan lightly. "Combine that with his knack for getting in trouble, and the things the shinobi has taught him, well, you get something quite worrisome. I cannot really fault him; Arwen was quite the grudge-holder when she was an elfling."

Aragorn smiled. "And she is not now?"

The two elves laughed softly. Halbarad shook his head good-naturedly.

"How long is he going to stay?"

Aragorn sighed. "I do not know. I have the feeling that all nine foreigners will not stay long beyond Midsummer."

The twins exchanged looks. "Estel, should we tell Ada about Hoshi?" asked Elrohir.

"Why?" he replied, somewhat confused.

"They are bound to cross paths," said Elladan. "And we think that it would give Ada some peace to talk to Hoshi."

Aragorn gave them a small, somewhat sad, smile. "Do what you think is best. That certainly is not a bad idea."

The twins gave him a thankful look, and peeled away to go to their tent, leaving the cousins to walk alone together.

"Hoshi is far from what I would call peaceful," remarked Halbarad with a chuckle. "In spite of their strangeness, those children remind me of mine at their rowdiest."

Aragorn nodded quietly in agreement. "The shinobi are not bad people. Violent, yes, but they are mostly well-meaning people."

Halbarad sighed, a small smile on his face. "I think the fact that they stood beside us is a clue. Who knows what they are facing back at home."

"They are headed to war," Aragorn replied quietly. "We made an agreement with their leader allowing them to move their men from Isengard to Cirith Ungol."

His fellow ranger made a low whistle. "From one war to another," he whispered, a grim look on his face. "Some of those children are not going to make it."

Aragorn nodded. "Hoshi seems to know it."

They halted in front of his tent. Halbarad briefly glanced up at the starry sky, then back at him.

"Are you going to allow them to put Hoshi in that fight?" he asked.

Aragorn had thought about the question when he had nothing else to ponder, but now that their war with Sauron was finished, the semi-theoretical question was now all too real and relevant.

"They will be damned if they do," he replied seriously.

Halbarad blinked hard, looking slightly frightened. "I figured that you would not let them," he mumbled. "Good night."

"Good night," replied Aragorn. A sudden wave of exhaustion hit him as he walked into his tent, making the man quite glad that sleep was soon to come.


	41. Chapter 41

**AN****:**

**Thank you to all those who have reviewed, followed and favorited! Sorry again for the long wait.**

**Thank you all for the support, and on with the show!**

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><p>It was well into the afternoon when the different arms of the host had finally settled at a large field that was surrounded by many trees sporting large clusters of yellow flowers.<p>

"Welcome to the Field of Cormallen," Hoshi declared when they entered the incredibly picturesque and surprisingly wide field. "And don't eat the trees."

Minato nodded absently at his student and strolled away from the genin and Kakashi, who were already demanding an explanation for Hoshi's comment concerning the trees. Orochimaru had already vanished to _kami_ knows where, thus leaving the jōnin with the option to take time for himself, or go see what others were doing. Quickly deciding that it would be better for him not to pester his comrades, Minato settled beneath a tree and absently began to fill out bits and pieces of the paperwork that would need to be turned in at the end of mission. He had considered draining the bodies of the _oni_ he had gathered before the left the battlefield, but that was a messy job, and would be a complete eyesore on this lovely place. Besides, watching a corpse get drained of fluids was not what anyone would call soothing by any means. When the general noises associated with setting up camp began to peter out, Orochimaru quite suddenly appeared before him.

The jōnin yelped, starting in surprise, causing his pen to go flying and hit the pale man in the knee. Minato looked up to see the Snake Sannin faintly smirk at him.

"Our client wishes to have a word with us," said Orochimaru.

Gathering up the somewhat scattered papers and picking up the pen, Minato stood up and followed the older jōnin into the maze of tents. After several minutes of walking they finally came to a rather large tent with a banner that bore a white tree on a black field standing before it. After a moment the two shinobi entered, bowing slightly as they pushed the flaps aside.

Sitting inside on a carpet in a circle were Aragorn, Eomer, Imrahil, Forlong, and Gandalf. Minato sat in an empty spot near Imrahil, and Orochimaru sat on his left.

"Now that Minato has been found we can begin to discuss our little agreement with your village," Gandalf remarked calmly.

"Namely how to screen and track all of those who are sent here," added Eomer gruffly. "We do not want any trouble-makers entering our lands and wreaking havoc."

"That's fair enough," Minato agreed. "On the subject of keeping track, I think it would help to restrict the shinobi to a certain route. I don't know any of your highways or roads well enough to make any recommendations though."

"The North-South road should suffice," replied Gandalf. "They would just have to follow the river Isen south, and then head south-east on the road."

"But we still have yet to solve the question of who would do the screening and ensure that the shinobi are the ones who are supposed to be here," Aragorn interjected softly.

Imrahil looked slightly surprised. "I thought that we had at least one person."

A sudden look of realization crossed the other man's face. "You mean Hoshi," he said dryly.

"This is something that he is uniquely suited for," remarked Orochimaru. "We need to keep a record of who is arriving at which date, and when they are leaving, and Hoshi is the only one who knows how to read and write in both of our languages. He can also tell when someone is lying."

Aragorn seemed to be less than pleased with the idea, but he did not seem eager to raise an argument. "So you are going to post him up at Isengard?"

Minato scratched his chin. "Well, I was thinking that we could have another checkpoint of sorts in Minas Tirith or Osgiliath," he said. "I think we should ask Hoshi which one he prefers."

"Speak of the Devil," muttered Orochimaru, looking out of the tent flap. Minato turned and saw his student walking by, covered and crowned by garlands of flowers.

"Hoshi!" he called. The boy stopped and quickly ran over to them and lifted the flap, looking around curiously.

"Good gracious," Forlong laughed. "It looks like my men have gotten ahold of you."

The jōnin blinked and suddenly realized that his student's face, forearms, hands and feet were quite deftly adorned with brilliant blue paint, and crowned not only by flowers, but also a pair of small antlers.

Hoshi shrugged with a smile on his face. "They took great joy in seeing me bedecked to their expectations, and it is not a great trouble to walk around like this."

"Were you never dressed up like this before?" asked Forlong with a hint of surprise.

The boy shook his head, causing some loose flowers and petals to fall to the ground. "It was always my sisters who were dressed up like this."

"Ah, an elder sister!" cried the large man. "That would explain it."

Imrahil cleared his throat. "As interesting as the springtime customs of Lossarnach happen to be, I would like to steer us back toward our original topic and reason for calling Hoshi here. Why don't you take a seat?" he asked Hoshi, gesturing at the ground.

Hoshi nodded, causing a few more petals to drift to the ground, and squeezed in-between the two jōnin.

"What is it that you would like to talk about?" he asked curiously, tucking a loose flower back into the wreath that crowned his head.

"We are going to have two checkpoints that shinobi must report to, one in Isengard, and the other either in Minas Tirith or Osgiliath," explained Orochimaru. "You are to be assigned to one and place a clone at the other."

His student looked a bit confused. "I believe my preference is obvious and Isengard will have to make do with a clone. But why am I needed?"

"You are the only one literate in Westron and whatever language the shinobi speak, as well as being familiar with both cultures. Paperwork needs to be done and it would be best if any shinobi passing through has a basic idea of the cultures they are encountering," answered Eomer somewhat sternly

Hoshi deflated and pulled a face. "I have to do paperwork? All by myself?" he whined.

Aragorn sighed through his nose. "I am not sure what the shinobi are going to do about that but you will at least have someone assisting you in Gondor. I will not have the time to look over each shinobi to ensure that they are not a danger to the citizens of Gondor, and you are a too young to be the sole voice of judgment on these people."

"Not to mention possessing a biased judgment," added Eomer. "You most certainly will not be working alone in Isengard, not as long as I have a say."

A mildly offended look crossed Hoshi's face and stayed for a moment before disappearing. "Alright, fair enough," he said evenly. "I am curious as to why the southern checkpoint will not be at Cirith Ungol."

"That will be managed by me," Orochimaru replied dryly. "Did you want to be posted there?"

Hoshi thought about it for a moment, then his eyes widened. "You make a good point."

Imrahil frowned slightly, leaning forward just so as he rested his chin on his folded hands. "I do approve of this system very much, but my concern lies elsewhere. What is there to stop your enemies from invading our lands?"

"Well, we have traps and illusions for starters," said Minato as he looked over to the older shinobi. Orochimaru grinned toothily and continued the description of security.

"There will always be at least two shinobi present at Cirith Ungol, and the entrance, or passage really, is visible from the fort. On Iwa's side, you have to climb up a cliff beside a waterfall to reach the entrance, and I took the opportunity to populate the area with _oni_ that are loyal to me," Orochimaru said with obvious glee.

"Oh-nee?" asked Forlong, looking perplexed.

"It is what they have been calling orcs," explained Aragorn quietly.

Forlong nodded in understanding, and tried to chase away the nervous expression from his face.

Hoshi scowled. "Would not the orcs be a reason for Iwa to investigate the area?" he asked somewhat sourly.

Orochimaru sniffed. "Give me some credit, genin. You are not the only one here who is proficient in _genjutsu_."

"So you already have masked the passage and its… guardians with illusions," said Gandalf, hinting a question in his statement.

"In a fashion," the pale shinobi replied. "To explain my whole scheme for the other side would require us delving into our folklore, and as nice as that would be, we do not have time for that."

"If you do want to be extra sure, we could get some giant spiders, or even a dragon to guard the passage," Minato suggested. Aragorn, Hoshi, and Gandalf fixed him a look that practically screamed 'Are you insane?'.

"A DRAGON?!" cried Eomer, wearing an expression that was both shocked and incredulous. "What sort of power do you have that would allow you to control a dragon?"

"If you ever find one," added Imrahil.

Hoshi sighed quietly, and, surprisingly, without a trace of exasperation. "Dragons are different here, Sensei. They are more akin to the Tailed Beasts than the _ry ū _and _tatsu _of folklore. For one thing they are creatures of fire, like the Balrog, and are apparently huge. If you want to more about dragons, ask Legolas or Gandalf."

Minato nodded, properly chided. "But are the spiders a possibility?" he asked meekly.

Hoshi pulled a face and shook his head. "We are on our own for this one. If you find any wraiths or undead that you can master, I say feel free to use them."

"What has given you cause to think that any survived Sauron's downfall?" ask Aragorn, tilting his head slightly in confusion with a small frown adorning his face.

The boy began tapping his forefinger restlessly against his knee. "Nothing. Just this feeling I have…"

Minato could see his student zone out as the tapping became more rhythmic.

"_Here they come,_

_Seven Scythes._

_Here they come, _

_reaping lives._

_One, two three four,_

_One, two three._

_Time to pay up;_

_Life isn't free._"

Orochimaru looked vaguely irritated. "You better not be predicting something worrisome, brat."

Hoshi threw his hands up into the air. "What on earth could I be predicting?!"

"Did you not hear yourself speak?" asked Forlong, perplexed.

The genin relaxed, looking quite apologetic. "I guess I was not around for that. I was elsewhere."

"It seems that you are unaware that those seven undead are still on our existential plane," Orochimaru remarked with a note of surprise.

Hoshi shrugged, and gently readjusted the garland on his shoulders. "So what if they are still here? I am not their master, nor am I their keeper. They can do whatever they wish."

Minato pushed back the uneasy feeling that news gave him and smiled brightly. "Alright! It seems that most everything has been taken care of. I assure you that Hoshi will cooperate with anyone you send to work with him."

Aragorn and Eomer fixed him with a look that made their skepticism clear, but Forlong and Imrahil nodded, looking rather optimistic.

Gandalf chuckled. "I believe that you colleague has something to say."

Orochimaru smirked as he removed two thin scroll from his flak jacket, and handed one to Hoshi, who took it with an expression of mild confusion. The other he unfurled, and undid the first seal written on the scroll. With a puff of smoke, a manila folder appeared in the Snake Sannin's lap. Hoshi groaned.

"Paperwork already?"

The jōnin ignored him, instead focusing on the adults present. "The first three teams have already been arranged. I thought that you all might want to know who they are and what they are doing."

Eomer raised an eyebrow. "I hope you are not expecting us to read the papers."

Orochimaru shook his head as he pulled a surprisingly thin packet of papers out. "There are portraits of each person in the papers. I presume that you would like to know who these people look like," he said while handing the packet to Gandalf.

Hoshi had removed the folder and opened it and, while the papers were being passed around, shared them with Minato.

_*"The Hyuuga Twins, an Inuzuka, and an Aburame make up the first team,"_*he muttered to his students. *_"Looks like the area needs to be scouted first."_*

*_"They put you on the second team, Sensei,"_* replied Hoshi. *_"Looks like you will be working with the Ino-Shika-Chō trio and one of Anko's cousins."_*

"You cannot have her pass through here." Gandalf's calm, but firm voice caused everyone to look up, and to the paper he was holding aloft.

"Kushina?!" Minato cried, seeing her face in the upper left corner of the paper.

Hoshi flipped through the papers concerning the third team, and came to her pages. "Uzumaki Kushina, rank: Jōnin, blah blah blah…" Hoshi muttered before looking up in confusion. "I do not see why she cannot be allowed passage just like anyone else. She is a lovely person, by the way."

"I am sure that she is," replied Gandalf. "It is not her character that I take issue with, it is what she is host of that I take issue with."

Minato felt his jaw drop. "How do you know about that?" he asked quietly.

Hoshi looked just as floored. "Damn it! I now owe Isao-san money. Also, how would you know about_ bijuu_ and recognize Kushina as a _jinchūriki_, Gandalf?"

The Istari sighed, and gave the thin boy a mischievous look. "You seem to have forgotten about your books, little one," the wizard said while removing two thin books from his satchel. "Aragorn recommended them to me. They are quite informative and entertaining. Not to worry, they are unharmed. Would you like them back right now?"

The genin nodded dumbly as the books were passed over to him, not seeming to know quite what to think.

"In regards to Uzumaki Kushina, we cannot pull her out of this," said Orochimaru quite sternly. "There is a reason that we placed her on a team."

"I am well aware of that," replied Gandalf with a hint of menace. "But the creature she is host to is too great a danger to have waltzing around our people."

Eomer was scowling, probably in an attempt to disguise just how lost he was. "Just how dangerous is that creature?"

"Sort of like your balrogs," replied Minato. "only less powerful. Maybe like a dragon."

"That cannot be killed," finished Gandalf. "I am sorry to say, but I do not know this Kushina well enough to trust her with keeping this creature from going on a rampage."

Minato bristled. "She has done well enough so far! Do you think that we would be allowing her out and about if she couldn't control _Kyuubi_?"

Aragorn frowned. "You raise a fair point. Will she be with someone who could help control the creature if it does break loose?"

Hoshi immediately shuffled through the papers. "While she will be with a five other high-ranking _kunoichi_, she is the only one with any expertise in seals and barrier techniques. Minato-sensei and Orochimaru-sensei both are capable of restraining the creature should it cut loose, but neither of them will be traveling with her."

Orochimaru snorted. "If that's all that is needed then we can easily fix the problem. My teammate Jiraiya will travel with them then."

Aragorn turned to Eomer, who nodded, and the two glanced at Gandalf, who sighed.

"It seems that I am overruled," he remarked with a wry smile.

"Excellent!" crowed the serpentine jōnin. "The only team that should have the most interaction with the land here should be the first one, as they are our scouts."

Imrahil raised an eyebrow. "They are scouting the land here?"

Minato nodded, skimming the mission details. "Basically any land surrounding Cirith Ungol in a 4 mile radius and a two mile wide corridor from Osgiliath to the passage itself. We don't want to be attacked by any rogues of Sauron's or any bandits."

"It is a good thing then that we burned the vale," said Aragorn. "I do not suppose that your explosives would have any use in demolishing Minas Morgul?"

Orochimaru frowned. "You want us to destroy the Nazgûl's fortress?"

The man nodded, his usual grim look on his face. "It is heavily cursed, and acts as a magnet and refuge for dark things. I doubt that even you shinobi could eke any use out of that place."

The serpentine man looked skeptical. Hoshi seemed to have noticed as he quickly added his two cents.

"It has been nicknamed the City of the Dead, and is still quite haunted when I am alive."

"What kind of haunted?" Orochimaru asked.

Hoshi shrugged. "I cannot tell you because I have never been allowed even in a mile-wide radius of that place. My sister and I tried, but we got caught and chewed out, as well as being grounded for a week," he finished with a sour grumble.

Minato quickly glanced over at Aragorn, who was listening to the anecdote with great intent.

"_Probably attempting to memorize it so he can prevent Hoshi and his sister from running off in the future,"_ the jōnin thought with a note of amusement.

"In any case," said Imrahil in a very business-like tone. "You should have your scouts talk to my nephew Faramir. He was in charge of the rangers in Ithilian, and knows the land and its dangers very well."

"I can facilitate that," Hoshi declared, raising his hand up briefly, and Minato nodded in approval

"Is there anything else we should know?" asked Eomer.

"Our students will be helping Hoshi, and I will hold onto the palantír until we finish our use of the passage," replied Orochimaru. "Other than that, we have told you everything."

Suddenly the tent flaps were thrown back and Kuro and Anko barreled in, nearly falling over Hoshi, who yelped and desperately attempted to keep the antlers and flower crown on his head.

"IS IT TRUE THAT YOU CAN EAT A ROTTEN MUSKRAT WITHOUT DYING FROM FOOD POISONING?" bellowed Anko, looking over-excited.

"AND WHAT THE HELL IS A MUSKRAT?" chimed in Kuro, looking very lost.

"Why are we shouting!?" yelled Hoshi, covering his ears, the crown knocked askew, covering one of his eyes. "And who are you even talking to?!"

Everyone in the tent was quite taken aback by the suddenness and force of the duo's arrival. Gandalf looked rather amused, with Imrahil, Eomer, and Forlong were still recovering from the assault. Orochimaru glowered at his students with disapproval.

Aragorn serenely gave the two genin a small smile. "To answer Kuro's question first, a muskrat is a semiaquatic rodent that lives in marshes. And yes, Anko, the Dúnedain often eat decomposing animals."

The kunoichi poked Hoshi in the shoulder. "Have you eaten any rotten animals?"

The boy gave her an incredulous look. "I've never had a reason to!"

"But you can?" asked Kuro, his head cocked like a curious puppy's.

"If it's been cooked!" he replied, as if it were obvious. "Now can you two go?"

"How rude!" declared Anko, feigning offense.

"But you know how it's cooked," retorted Kuro, as if it proved that Hoshi had once eaten a rotten creature.

"Well excuse me for growing up in a household where rotten muskrat is occasionally on the menu!"

"You're taking a great deal of offense over a simple meal," observed Anko.

Hoshi threw his hands up in surrender, stood, and walked out of the tent, forgetting all of his papers. Orochimaru shook his head, took his students by the ear, and followed the lanky genin out. Silence filled the tent for a moment, and those who remained slowly turned their heads to face Aragorn.

"Is decaying meat a, uh, delicacy, up north?" asked Forlong tactfully.

Aragorn full-on laughed, surprising Minato and the rest. "Not in the slightest! Preparing it is absolutely dreadful, and it is still very risky to consume. It is regarded as a man's dish, if you want to attach any importance to it."

Minato shuffled the papers, placing them in the manila folder. "Do you have any clue as to why Hoshi would be so touchy concerning all of that?" he asked hesitantly.

The man shrugged. "As of now, I am as clueless as you," Aragorn remarked thoughtfully and suddenly frowned. "It better not be because he attempted to eat some. He is far too young for that."

"What escapes me is why those two children came storming in here asking about rotten meat in the first place," grumbled Eomer.

"Probably because some members of the Grey Company found something rotting and decided to cook it," Imrahil calmly suggested.

The horselord gave Aragorn a sideways glance. "I thought that you said that rotten meat was not a delicacy."

"Once prepared, some of us happen to be rather partial to it," the ranger replied with a hint of defensiveness. "It also helps that eating it can be seen as a symbol of power."

Eomer folded his arms across his chest. "Forgive me if I do not quite see the power in eating a long-dead animal."

Gandalf chuckled. "Think of it as akin to eating poison and having no effect on the consumer."

There was a rustle of fabric as the tent flaps were opened again and Hoshi stalked back in with a less-than positive look on his face.

"And it still stinks, even after cooking it!" he complained, clearly having caught the tail of the conversation. "Try holding trade negotiations with that under your nose!"

"So that is your beef with it," Aragorn remarked with a note of humor.

"C'mon _Ada_," whined Hoshi. "Even _Naneth _hates it."

"I most certainly am not expecting her to like it," the ranger replied patiently. "After all, it is an acquired taste."

"And smell," the boy grumbled. Minato held the folder out to his student, not even attempting to mask the amusement he was feeling.

"You will have to eat some one day," Aragorn said with a noticeable amount of cheer. Hoshi looked horrified.

Minato quickly covered his mouth with his hand, and noticed the others doing so as well, all attempting to stifle chuckles at the grey-eyed boy's humorous expression.

"Well, if you will excuse me, I am off to go find some proper food," Hoshi quickly said, waiting for permission to depart.

The jōnin grinned. "Then I shall join you!" he looked to the other men, who subtly waved them off. He gave them a bow, and then followed his student out of the tent.

"Do you already have an idea of where to go?" he asked the boy, who was stuffing the folder into a satchel.

"As much as I would prefer to avoid the Dúnedain at the moment, my uncles wished to share a meal with me," Hoshi replied somewhat dryly. "I doubt that they would mind a guest."

Minato doubted that the twins would like sharing a small moment of family time with an outsider, but his stomach was complaining too much for him to care.

"As long as they are not serving lembas," he returned, as they set off to find Elladan and Elrohir.


	42. Chapter 42

Legolas sat beneath one of the many golden-boughed trees, nibbling at the remains of the lembas gifted to him by the Lady Galadriel, at watching the men go about their business. From his position the prince of Mirkwood could observe the Dúnedain and men of Lossarnach several feet away, some eating, others cleaning their gear, many chatting. A short distance to his left Kakashi and Susano'o rested under another of the _culumalda_, with the silver-haired boy reclining on a branch with a book in his hand. The other child was handling his stringed instrument that looked akin to a vihuela. After adjusting himself, Susano'o started playing a series of notes. He suddenly stopped, then started playing another odd tune. Legolas found himself sitting up straight as the copper-skinned boy began to rasp out lyrics in a strange language.

"_All our times have come_

_Here but now they're gone_

_Seasons don't fear the reaper_

_Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain... we can be like they are_

_Come on baby... don't fear the reaper_

_Baby take my hand... don't fear the reaper_

_We'll be able to fly... don't fear the reaper_

_Baby I'm your man..._

_La la la la la_

_La la la l-OW!"_

Kakashi had dropped something on Susano'o's head, and looked quite sour. A sense of curiosity overcame his previous desire to remain idle, and Legolas walked over to the two foreign boys.

"Why did you do that?" snapped Susano'o, looking quite displeased.

"Because your crow's croak of a voice was giving me a headache," Kakashi groused in reply. "If you want that music so badly, why don't you turn on the radio?"

Legolas had to agree that the bandaged boy sounded like he gargled glass before he sang, and the song did no favors for his voice. His arrival to the spot brought the two out of their argument to more or less greet him.

"Legolas!" cried Susano'o with a gleeful expression. "My singing was not that bad, right?"

The elf winced internally. "Well, it most certainly was not a style we are used to here," he remarked with a forced smile.

The boy knew exactly what was being communicated, and pouted. "Was the guitar-playing good?"

Kakashi huffed. "Your playing is fine, your singing is not."

"But I only know the entirety of three songs!" Susano'o whined up to the branches of the tree. "_Mezamero! Yasei, Don't Fear the Reaper, _and_ Wonderwall_."

"Then either learn more, or turn on the damn radio!" snapped the masked child.

There was a moment of silence before Susano'o set aside his instrument, and began to take out the odd box. Legolas turned over the odd-sounding names in his head, noting that the latter two song titles were quite unlike the first one.

"Learn more or turn on the radio!" the child mocked while removing several metal rods and wires.

"I can hear you, you know," Kakashi drawled.

The other boy rolled his eyes and climbed up the tree with a wire and rod contraption in his hand. Legolas looked back over to the camp, and noted that Merry and Pippin had arrived and were chatting with the Dúnedain and the Gondorians. A soft thud told him that Susano'o had returned from the tree-top, and the elf could hear him fiddling with the machine. Legolas continued to calmly people-watch, and listen to the muffled hum of chatter.

"_TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?!_"

Legolas immediately clapped his hands over his ears as he was assaulted by a pounding, horrific noise. Kakashi fell out of the tree and screamed at Susano'o:

"Change the station NOW!"

"Sorry, sorry!" said the other boy, and the noise suddenly changed to some man shouting about utter nonsense about this 'wall-mart' at the same obscene noise level as before. The man was cut off mid-word and replaced by a quieter women singing sweetly with others about wading in 'the' water. The blonde allowed himself to exhale in relief, and saw that Merry and Pippin were headed over to them, followed by some of the men.

"What in Middle Earth was that?" cried Merry, a frightened look on his face.

Legolas looked over to the shinobi, both who shrugged.

"We don't have that sort of music back at home," replied Kakashi, looking quite ruffled.

"Music?!" cried Legolas, his exclamation joined by several others.

Susano'o rolled his eyes. "Listening to all the different stations is quite enlightening, and a great deal of things can be classified as music."

"Like cowbells, and screaming bloody murder," remarked Kakashi. "Trust me, if we can hear it on the radio, it means that the music is popular."

"And if you hear it over and over again across different stations, then you know it is REALLY popular," added Susano'o.

One of the Dúnedain frowned and crossed his arms. Legolas recognized him as Cellin, the fiddle player.

"What sort of song would that be?" he asked.

The boys frowned, and then exchanged a glance. "It really depends, but they tend to be pretty mindless."

"Can you show us?" asked Pippin rather eagerly.

Susano'o pulled a flask filled with inky liquid out of his robe, quickly followed by a brush. "You might want to be able to understand what the heck they are saying before we start."

"And have a seat," Kakashi added, waving his hand at the grass. "This is going to take some time."

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Gimli felt that he had spent much of his afternoon rather productively. It had been ages since he had been able to nap in relative peace, and it would almost be a crime for him to not capitalize on the chance for him to snooze the warm afternoon away in a nice tent. He was having a lovely dream, where he found a deep and vast network of glittering caves, and the further he wandered, the more beautiful rooms he found. There were rooms of copper, gold, and silver, great caverns heavily veined with ore and mithril, and a whole ceiling of starry gems that would make the Elvenking mad with envy. Suddenly Legolas' voice echoed about the caverns:

"Come, Gimli! You are late for your wedding!"

A feeling of deep dread came over the dwarf as he finally mustered the courage to look down at his outfit.

"Not this again!"

The dwarf awoke with the unspeakable vision of him in Lady Eowyn's white dress dancing in his mind's eye.

"Might as well go find the princeling," he grumbled to himself, and left the tent. He wandered along the tents, and was often drawn into conversation with the men with questions about dwarves and his homeland. Many were quite excited about the prospect of increasing trade between Erebor, Rohan, and Gondor, and the few Dúnedain that wandered over to these fires were positively giddy with the economic opportunities brought about by Sauron's defeat. Gimli always sheepishly ended each visit with a request of Legolas' location, and he would be pointed right to western end of the camp, around the Dúnedain encampment. He found himself hopping from hearth to hearth, finally ending up in the company of Imrahil's three sons, Eomer, and his assistant Gambling as the sun crept toward the horizon.

"How do you think Dale and Erebor have fared?" asked Eomer not unkindly after taking a sip from his water skin. Gimli idly wondered if the king has somehow availed himself a few spirits.

"I believed that Erebor most certainly held," the dwarf replied somewhat pensively. "I fear that Dale must have taken significant damage, but there is no doubt there that the men prevailed alongside my kin. But I will not know for some time. I can only guess that I will be returning soon after Aragorn's wedding."

"Elessar is getting married?" ask Amrothos curiously, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Why yes," answered Gimli with a smile. "He has been betrothed to an Elf lady for quite some time. I am sure that they would want to get married as soon as possible, now that a peaceful future has been secured."

Eomer raised his eyebrows and took another swig from his water skin. "I cannot say that surprises me," he grumbled. "Hoshi's proof that Aragorn most certainly only had eyes for elvish women."

Elphir looked ready to say something, but the young man quickly closed his mouth and turned his head to watch a small group of Dúnedain to run past them toward the western end of the camp, chatting among themselves eagerly in their Sindarin dialect. The six of them watched the grey-cloaked men go, all sharing a feeling of bemusement.

"What was that all about?" Gambling asked the air.

"I can fill you in, if you want me to."

Gimli smiled at Obito, who was casually strolling along. "We would greatly appreciate it, laddie."

The blue-clad boy grinned and joined the small circle, sitting cross-legged on the grassy ground. "Kakashi and Susano'o have been exploring the wide world of radio music with Legolas, Merry, Pippin, a few of the grey cloaks, and some of the guys from loss-are-nak. I joined them for a bit after they found a station that played real music, and then they changed it to listen to an hour and a half of an opera about some dude with a magic flute that was actually kind of cool, even though none of us knew the beginning. Then one of the grey cloaks mentioned dancing to one of the songs, and guys form loss-are-nak challenged them to dance to the next song up. So I was sent out to call for back-up so to speak while Susano'o records the song, and allow the grey cloaks to listen to it first."

Gambling's eyes lit up. "I have heard that their dances are quite a thing to watch. I certainly do not want to miss it."

Gimli nodded in agreement. "Thank you for telling us Obito! Do you mind taking us to them?"

The boy nodded and leapt to his feet with a grin. "I would be my pleasure!"

The three brothers exchanged glances and joined the boy, Gambling, and Gimli himself on their feet. With a deep sigh, Eomer stood as well.

"Why not?" he grumbled.

As the seven briskly walked over to the western edge, the dwarf noticed that they were not the only ones headed over. A great deal of the Rohirrim were going in the same direction, some of them on their horses. A few soldiers from Dol Amroth also joined the small trip westward. When they arrived to the edge of the camp, there was already the beginning of a crowd. Not even pretending to hide their haste, everyone, even Eomer, practically dove to the small open spot in the front, just off center.

"Ah, there you are," said Gandalf cheerfully. "I was wondering when you all were going to show up."

Gimli looked left to see the wizard, as well as Imrahil, Legolas, the elf twins, Merry and Pippin, and Aragorn with the rest of the Dúnedain. Glancing right he saw Kakashi, Minato, Orochimaru, Anko, Kuro, and a strong showing from Lossarnach, with Furlong smack in the middle. Obito looked about for his brother, who did not seem to be present. Gimli adjusted his posture and shifted in his spot. Eomer sat tall next to him, an inscrutable look on the man's face. They waited, and after what seemed for a significant length of time Susano'o emerged from under the trees.

"Good evening and welcome to our little event," the boy declared as dramatically as possible. "There is a high probability that you will be disturbed by the noises in this song, which is not quiet in any sense of the word. I recommend that you keep your hands close to your ears, and tie up your horses away from danger, because they might be spooked. Other than that, enjoy the show."

Susano'o disappeared into the shadow under the golden trees. Gimli heeded the child's warning and slightly covered his ears. Curiosity caused him to glance around, and he noted that only Gandalf and the shinobi refrained from covering their ears, as well as Eomer. Obito was leaning over to his teammate and teacher, and Gimli could not resist eavesdropping when he noticed that they were whispering.

"Where is Hoshi?" asked Obito quite loudly for a whisper. "I haven't seen him this afternoon at all."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well I haven't seen him around either."

The two turned to their teacher, who looked troubled. "We had lunch together with his uncles, and I last saw Hoshi with them. Other than that, I couldn't tell you where he could have gone."

A loud, urgent noise ceased all conversation and startled almost everyone. Gimli took a deep breath to calm himself, and then devoted his attention to the beginning of the performance.

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

Eldarion felt uneasy in the presence of his uncles. Minato seemed to notice the odd feelings present, and made himself scarce as soon as he finished the food offered to him. Eldarion half wished that his teacher would stay, if only to act as a barrier to the awkwardness of their situation.

"You bear quite a resemblance to your father when he was your age," remarked Elrohir, breaking the silence. "Except for your nose, and maybe the shape of your eyes. Those look just like Arwen's."

Eldarion fiddled with a bird bone, long picked clean. The small thing was already splintering at the edges due to nervous gnawing, and one end was broken open, revealing the dark maroon of the cooked marrow.

"I doubt that you invited me for lunch just so you can appraise my appearance, uncle," he said quietly.

"That is part of it," Elrohir admitted.

"We just wish to get to know you better," Elladan added kindly.

Eldarion carefully placed the bone alongside one of its fellows. "Why now?" he asked, confused. "As strange as it happens to be, I am not yet born."

Elrohir chuckled, a small smile on his face. "We can wait to become acquainted with our Gondorian nephew."

"Now, Hoshi of Konoha," Elladan said with a large grin, leading forward with exaggerated interest. "Thou art quite a stranger!"

"It is with thee with whom we wish to make our acquaintance," they finished brightly in unison.

The pointy-eared boy laughed, unable and unwilling to keep the large grin from spreading across his face. "My, what a pleasant surprise! It must be the first time I have been asked about my shinobi side. Very well then, I shall answer any questions you have!"

"Who took you in?" asked Elrohir. "For we owe them a debt of gratitude."

"The Uchiha clan adopted me, though Obito and his parents had been sheltering me before I was officially integrated."

"Are they good to you?" he asked again.

Eldarion nodded. "They can be a bit stern and stiff, and put a large stress on ability and tradition but they love very deeply. The Uchiha protect their own, and a very loyal to their friends. Without Obito I would have been long dead."

Elladan placed his left hand on his chin. "You feel indebted to them."

"They are my family!" he fiercely declared. "If ever shall they need me I will open my doors to them. Any Uchiha can request my assistance and I shall deliver. I am a member of their clan, and as such I have to duty to my fellow clan members."

The twins exchanged a troubled glance. Eldarion sighed.

"If you need assurance, I would never dream of abandoning Gondor and Arnor, nor would I ever turn my back on my family here. I have two families, neither which I could ever betray."

"We believe you little one," Elladan soothed, patting him between the small antlers. Nobody said anything after that, though they looked at him somewhat mournfully.

"How… how skilled are you among shinobi?" asked Elrohir somewhat reluctantly.

"Oh, I am nothing special over there," Eldarion answered somewhat sheepishly. "I am known for being pretty fast, a good sneak, and my skills with a pole-arm and needles. I am recognized at a lesser extent for my genjutsu, which I have worked hard to master, and for the fact that nobody can lie to me. Other than that, many see me as not quite being all there, so to speak"

"Now why on earth is that?" asked Elrohir, surprised. "You seem to be rather intact and quite focused." The elf gestured at the lanky boy.

"I tend to take leave of my senses when seriously injured or when someone close to me is seriously injured. I had a pretty infamous breakdown after my first cousin was killed." Eldarion replied quietly, trying to detach himself from the incident as much as possible.

His uncles did not pry, although it looked like they desired a thorough explanation. Before a silence could settle over them, Elladan surprised him.

"Do they have a creator in that world?"

Elrohir gave his brother a strong look, seeming to ask "What kind of question is that?".

"What, like Eru Ilúvatar?" Eldarion replied, his surprise deeply coloring his tone

"Yes," said Elladan, who looked surprisingly intense. "What is their spiritual world like?"

The genin sighed, and rubbed the tip of his ear. "It is quite strange. You see, there is no conclusive proof that a creator or beings akin to the Valar and Maiar exist. The most is simple beliefs, and they do tend to clash. The people do have certain areas that have been determined as holy by the devout, but those are few in number, especially among the shinobi. The people there like to build temples and shrines to house the spirits that they worship."

Elladan wrinkled his nose. "How strange! No wonder the people are so violent! They are adrift in a world and left to question their existence."

"If you ask me, we are just as adrift as they are," Eldarion remarked with a frown. "They actually have more of an anchor than we do. If you ask them what awaits them after death, they will give you answers."

Elrohir suddenly leaned forward, an attentive expression on his face. "What are their answers?"

"Either eternity in a dark, damp cave, endless reincarnation, or endless bliss as one has removed all attachments, aversions, and ignorance from their life, freeing them from the cycle of reincarnation. There is a rather standard belief among civilians that the actions in the life will affect the quality of your afterlife. The shinobi prefer to think more like us, in that they don't think overmuch about what awaits them after death, and that the actions of one's life do not affect one's afterlife." Eldarion explained as best as he could. He wondered if he had missed anything, then decided that he didn't.

"Anything else that is unique about them?" asked Elladan with a small frown.

"Elves, dwarves, and hobbits do not exist in their world," the boy laid out bluntly. "However, a variety of demons, spirits, apparitions, and other strange phenomena do exist. The oddest thing about it is that few acknowledge that these…yōkai are a part of their reality. Minato-sensei is terrified of the supernatural, but he is one of the very few who actually considers the existence of beings left as fiction in children's tales and ghost stories. Obito and his parents have no idea that his great-great-great grandmother's umbrella is sentient and has a great sense of humor."

There was a long moment of shocked silence, then Elrohir piped up.

"Did you just indicate that objects gain sentience if they are old enough?"

Eldarion blinked. "You know, I thought that you both would have gotten hung up upon the fact that the race of men is the only race that our two worlds share, but talking objects is pretty shocking as well."

Elladan scowled at him. "Watch your tone, little one. So, are you trying to say that you are the only one who seems to notice these supernatural phenomena?"

"Not at all!" he replied, somewhat chastised. "Such things are rather rare, and one can blink and miss it. I simply happen to bring it up because I am a source of curiosity for these beings. They prefer to reveal themselves only to their own kind, and they are not sure if I am to be counted among them. It might be because I am somewhat alien to the shinobi world, and the fact that I can summon a spirit of death when placed in the right situation and in the right state of mind."

"Summon a spirit of death?" asked Elrohir, sounding somewhat dazed.

"I have been able to call upon her at least three times before," Eldarion stated somewhat tonelessly. "Once, when I was with my family in Dale, and twice on missions with my teammates."

"You say it so casually," Elladan said, with an incredulous look on his face.

"It is simply an ability, like writing and swordplay," the boy could not help but give his uncles a wry smile. "You wanted to know a bit about Hoshi the shinobi, and he can summon a spirit of death. He also likes to listen to stories, play the flute, eat berries, eat honey, eat berries and honey, and sleep."

A look of amusement returned to the twins' faces. "Does he dislike anything in particular?" as Elrohir playfully.

Eldarion grinned, eagerly playing along. "He loathes Maths, and is not particularly fond of alcohol and spicy foods. He does not like it when people call him stupid, because he knows five and a half alphabets and speaks a fair amount of languages. He dislikes being called a coward, because running away is a fair option that has kept him alive. Oh, instant ramen is terrible, and so is the color pink."

The elves laughed, obviously entertained. Just about that time, a head poked into the tent.

"Ah, Teithon," said Elrohir, his good spirits carrying to his greeting. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"The men of Lossarnach have challenged us to a dance," the older teen announced breathlessly. "It is on the western side of the camp."

"Say no more!" Elladan declared, rising to his feet, a grin on his face. "My brother and I will join you."

The young Dúnedain looked over to Eldarion, wordlessly asking a question.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I will pass," he replied with a grateful smile. He wanted some time for himself and to relax for a bit. His uncles seemed to understand, and they both patted him on the head as they left.

Eldarion waited for a moment, and looked over the remains of their late lunch.

"_Might as well dispose of the bones when I go," _the boy thought. He scanned the tent floor, and found a decent-sized rag that no one would miss. Humming to himself, Eldarion gathered all the bones into the rag, and walked out, carefully holding the bundle.

"_I should bury them in the forest,"_ he thought. _"It's a bit early to have a proper midden around here"_

The sun was sinking low in the sky as Eldarion walked into the forest proper, and shadows were draped across every surface. He whistled a small ditty, and the dim air seemed to dampen the noise. Unperturbed, the thin genin came to a stop in a small clearing, and carefully placed the bundle down. Crouching down, Eldarion removed a _kunai_, and started to dig using the weapon.

"_There is an inn, a merry old inn_

_beneath an old grey hill,_

_And there they brew a beer so brown_

_That the Man in the Moon himself came down_

_one night to drink his fill."_

He sang while digging with both the knife and his hands. As the flower garland began to slip off it's place once more, he removed it with a bit of frustration, somewhat tossing it in the hole that he was making. With a deep breath, he returned to digging and singing.

"_The ostler has a tipsy cat_

_that plays a five-stringed fiddle;_

_And up and down he runs his bow,_

_Now squeaking high, now purring low,_

_now sawing in the middle."_

The _kunai_ slid and slashed the side of his finger, causing Eldarion to yelp, drop the blade and clutch his hand, examining the wound. Wincing, he tore a bit of the bone rag off, and tied it around his bleeding finger, and set back to work.

"_The landlord keeps a little dog_

_that is mighty fond of jokes;_

_When there's good cheer among the guests,_

_He cocks an ear at all the jests_

_and laughs until he chokes."_

The song sped up the digging and kept his mind off his finger. The pointy-eared boy stopped and examined the hole deeming it fit enough to hold the bones.

"_They also keep a hornéd cow_

_as proud as any queen;_

_But music turns her head like ale,_

_And makes her wave her tufted tail_

_and dance upon the green."_

He sang as he carefully dropped the rag into the hole, and arranged it carefully within.

"_And O! the rows of silver dishes_

_and the store of silver spoons!_

_For Sunday there's a special pair,_

_And these they polish up with care_

_on Saturday afternoons."_

Now was time to put the dirt back on top of the bones. Scooping the dirt with his hands, the winced as it irritated the cut, even though it was covered.

"_The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,_

_and the cat began to wail;_

_A dish and a spoon on the table danced,_

_The cow in the garden madly pranced,_

_and the little dog chased his tail."_

Eldarion found himself slightly irritated that he had dug so deeply, and the several handfuls he had returned their place barely covered the bones. But since it was something he had started, it had to be something he finished.

"_The Man in the Moon took another mug,_

_and rolled beneath his chair;_

_And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,_

_Till in the sky the stars were pale,_

_and dawn was in the air."_

He could faintly here a loud, foreign tune from across the camp, but Eldarion happily ignored it in favor of his own singing.

"_Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:_

_"The white horses of the Moon,_

_They neigh and champ their silver bits;_

_But their master's been and drowned his wits,_

_and the Sun'll be rising soon!""_

The pile of dirt was quickly shrinking in height, and the injured finger was not throbbing as badly. Eldarion was cheered by the end in sight, and began to work faster.

"_So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,_

_a jig that would wake the dead:_

_He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,_

_While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:_

_"It's after three!" he said."_

A cool wind blew through the trees, whistling though the branches. The boy ignored it, focused on the small molehill of dirt remaining.

"_They rolled the Man slowly up the hill_

_and bundled him into the Moon,_

_While his horses galloped up in rear,_

_And the cow came capering like a deer,_

_and a dish ran up with the spoon."_

Scooping the last of the dirt atop the has-been hole, Eldarion began to smooth it over, and pack it down.

"_Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;_

_the dog began to roar,_

_The cow and the horses stood on their heads;_

_The guests all bounded from their beds_

_and danced upon the floor."_

And with a couple firm pats, the luminously pale genin found himself finished. He dusted his hands off each other, wincing and hissing when he realized the bandage had fallen off sometime in the digging. He composed himself and stood up.

"_With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke!_

_the cow jumped over the Moon,_

_And the little dog laughed to see such fun,_

_And the Saturday dish went off at a run_

_with the silver Sunday spoon."_

Eldarion wiped his grimy, bloody hands on his tunic, and turned to walk away, the last few verses on his lips.

"_The round Moon rolled behind the hill,_

_as the Sun raised up her head._

_She hardly believed her fiery eyes;_

_For though it was day, to her surprise_

_they all went back to bed."_

The sound of applause broke through the quiet, causing Eldarion to start and immediately hide behind a tree.

"_What a lovely performance,__"_ cooed a familiar voice. _"__Come out where we can see you, little one.__"_

The genin shyly pulled his head out and confirmed his personal suspicion. There stood Loenil and Luhtindë, but looking different. Their clothes were black and the height of elvish design. But both wore a _haori,_ and each had a mask atop their heads, set off to the side. Loenil carried a scythe across her back.

"_Thank you for your kind words,__" _he murmured shyly_._ The two elleths gasped.

"_GÎL!__" _shrieked Loenil, runningover and nearly tackling him. Lutindë immediately joined them, a glad look on her face.

"_I told you he survived,__" _whispered the black-haired woman, sounding close to tears. _"__ We did not see you in Mandos, and Námo told us that you might as well not have been there.__"_

" _I hate to ask,__" _murmured Eldarion._ "__But what are you two doing back here?__"_

Loenil released him and looked into his eyes, ready to say something. The genin noticed with a bit of shock that her whites were as dark as night, while her iris and pupil remained clouded. Luhtindë's eyes were also like Loenil's

"_THERE YOU ARE YOU UNGREATFUL BRAT!__"_

Eldarion looked over to his left and saw Mornano barreling toward him, clothed entirely in black, with the _haori_ flapping in the light breeze, looking ready to spit fire. Arnon was hot on his heels, looking just as enraged. Harpaner, Colfinnor, and Nénaquen trailed after them, the blond appearing quite distressed, the helmed elf looking utterly bored, and the brunette channeling the mannerisms of a happy puppy.

The two elleth's eyes widened, and the women all but shoved him. _"_ _Run Gil!__"_ they shrieked in unison. Deciding not to squander his time and their good advice, Eldarion immediately took to the trees, and fled.

**AN****:**

**Thank you to those who have been reviewing, favoriting, and following! Apologies for taking an obnoxiously long amount of time to upload this chapter. You all don't deserve my tardiness. **

_**The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon-**_**by J.R.R. Tolkien**


	43. Chapter 43

**AN: **

**Holy cannoli, how can I apologize? I have failed you all. I literally have finished a semester of college, Naruto itself has ended, and the final Hobbit movie has come out, all before this chapter was posted. Don't worry, I plan on finishing this, hopefully in a more timely manner. Better late than never, I hope **(◠△◠)'

**Anyways, thank you to all the reviewers, favorites, followers, and readers. Thanks for all the support, and on with the show!**

* * *

><p>Rin was having a rather lovely evening at the Houses of Healing. Chatting with healers about different ways to treat infections was much better than sitting alone in Gandalf's large, empty house. She had caught up with Eowyn, Faramir, and Lothíriel the day before, but Eowyn remained rather withdrawn, talking mostly to Faramir when the man was around. At the moment she was with Lothíriel, who was headed to the well to gather some water.<p>

"Things have gotten quite busy for Faramir since Sauron's defeat," Lothíriel idly chatted, her heeled boots clicking on the flagstone path. "He's very focused on preparing for the King's return and bracing for the abolition of his post."

Rin frowned. "Hoshi made no indication that Faramir would lose the Stewardship."

The olive-skinned woman shrugged. "In any case, he is making it clear to lords that this Elessar his full support. A fair few are not so keen on having a new king." She finished as they reached the well, and picked up the bucket.

The brunette held her silence briefly as Lothíriel inspected the bucket. "Why are they not pleased?" she asked, unable to resist.

The woman looked at the genin with a small frown. "Various reasons. Loss of power, influence, increased taxes, prejudice; just to name a few. Hoshi did not do any favors." With that, the healer threw the bucket down the well.

_*Klunk*_

The two females looked at each other. "Is that normal?" asked Rin.

Lothíriel shook her head. They turned, and looked down into the well. There was the bucket, resting rather neatly atop what it had struck. Rin squinted, trying to make out the shape in the dim light below.

"Is that, a tortoise shell?" asked Lothíriel, sounding really confused.

Then, a head surfaced from the water. The face was beaked, and the top of the thing's head bore a water-filled indent. The two immediately shrieked and recoiled from the well.

"Did you just see what I saw?" asked Rin, horrified.

"A beaked, shelled creature?" replied the healer, her eyes wide. "That I did."

There was another scream, this time from indoors. Without much else of a prelude, Eowyn stormed into the courtyard, looking more frustrated than fearful, with a terrified healer at her heels.

"Perhaps someone with stronger nerves can assist me with my problem." She snapped rather blindly. Rin could not help but giggle nervously at the small amount of irony present in their situation.

"Indeed?" Lothíriel fairly squeaked. "How may I be of assistance?"

Eowyn plowed on, oblivious to the situation she had just encountered. "There is a creature in my room that refuses to grant me entrance. Rin could know what to do."

"Ah," remarked Lothíriel, glancing at the kunoichi.

The Rohirric princess gestured with her head, and they mutely followed her inside. They, minus the trembling healer, soon arrived to Eowyn's room. The door was closed, and Rin could hear faint noises, coming from inside.

"It sounds like she is humming," Rin commented quietly.

Lothíriel took a deep breath, then rapped on the door. "Hello? Can you please open up?"

The door flew open, and the sight caused the medic's jaw to drop. The creature was the most gorgeous woman she had ever laid eyes upon, made-up and dressed like a legendary _geisha_. She would have been flawless if she had not been literally missing her neck.

"A _nukekubi_!" Rin shrieked, shoving the _yōkai_ back into the room, then slamming the door shut. Without hesitation, she pulled out tape and wire, and proceeded to crisscross the door.

"Um, Rin-?" Eowyn sounded rather confused.

"Do you have a window? Does it have glass? Does it open?" the kunoichi asked, panicked.

The blonde woman looked incredibly ruffled, but managed to answer. "Yes, yes, and no. Why?"

"Those creatures eat people at night," Rin replied plainly, trying to manage her fear. "Lothíriel and I saw a _kappa_ in a well, and that has a preference for small children."

Lothíriel wore a frightened expression. "What are these spooks doing here?" she asked.

Eowyn huffed, a grim and annoyed look on her face. "Looks like we need to talk to your adults."

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

The sun was nearly set, and Pippin had left the crowd with all of the foreign children, radio in hand, and relaxed among the trees a small distance away from the celebrators. The hobbit could easily hear Legolas and some of the men from Lossarnach belt a song they had heard over and over throughout their radio odyssey. The strange device in question was mercifully silent, having finally been turned to its original "channel", as Susano'o had called it. The copper-skinned boy was currently napping, with his arm slung over the radio. Both Obito and Kuro were sleeping against a tree, with Kuro snoring loudly. Kakashi and Anko were reading off scrolls; the boy looked rather bored, while the usually loud girl was surprisingly intent on the content of the scroll. Pippin himself was sitting on a small rock, and gnawing on a biscuit of sorts. Looking over at the crowd, he noticed a couple people approaching. Peering at the figures in the dimming light, the Took quickly finished his snack and stood up.

"Good evening Gandalf, Merry," Pippin greeted lightly. "Fine evening, is it not?"

The wizard nodded, and briefly regarding the darkening sky. "Indeed it is," he remarked rather distantly, pulling his pipe out of some pocket on his person.

Merry did the exact same thing, and Pippin immediately followed, bringing forth the pipeweed Merry had given to him when they had parted at Edoras.

"Good evening for a smoke, eh Pip?" the Brandybuck said cheerfully, adding the weed into the bowl of the pipe.

The trio stood silently, puffing on their pipes, and making shapes with the smoke. The best the hobbits could do were large rings, but Gandalf sent ships, swans, and dragons gliding through them. Pippin liked to follow them until they disappeared, and his odd head movements caused endless amusement for Merry. The hush of nightfall was lessened by the merrymaking nearby, as a rather bawdy song was howled out by men made drunk by good spirits. As Pippin followed the moth, Gandalf broke his silence.

"I see you both, houseless souls among the living. Do come here, and let us talk,"

Merry lowered his pipe and gave the Took a pointed look. Pippin snapped to attention, and his eyes widened. Two translucent elven women walked toward them, dressed both in elven finery and clothes more suited to the shinobi. One even carried a scythe across her back.

"Were there not seven of you?" asked Gandalf.

"_There are, but those _ellyn_ are impossible__"_ said the one carrying the scythe. _"__They are not pleased to be here__"_

"I would not expect them to be," Gandalf replied in Westron, oblivious of the fact that both Pippin and Merry had a translation seal on their ears. "Unhoused souls such as yourselves should not still be lingering. What has bound you here?"

"_The foreigners have, in a rather indirect way,__" _answered the other woman. _"__They need to be guided back to their afterlife when they die, and the one who should be their guide has refused to cooperate with Mandos.__"_

The wizard frowned. "I fear that what you are telling me not making much sense to me."

The two elves huffed. _"__Foreigners are going to die in Eä. In fact, we re-killed one on Sauron's doorstep. They cannot go where the secondborn go, nor can they languish here. When they do, strange beings follow them, or their discontented spirits devolve into terrible creatures. According to what Mandos has told us, there has been a guide for the dead since a foreigner arrived here. But that guide is "on strike", whatever that means, and has selected us to do her dirty work,__"_ explained the scythe-carrier.

Just then a noise exploded from the radio, startling everybody nearby. Susano'o was jolted awake, and quickly grabbed the headset of the radio and pulled it on, not bothering to fix the lopsided object.

"Hello?" he rasped, slurring the word into the cloth-wrapped bud with exhaustion.

Pippin could pick up a faint response of high-pitched garbled speech, but could not decipher the words. The two translucent women stared at the boy and radio in awe.

"What are you on, and can I have some?" replied Susano'o, looking somewhat more alert.

The speaker on the other end responded with irritation and anger, causing Anko to look up from her scroll.

"What's going on?" she asked.

The boy covered the cloth bud with his bandage wrapped hand. "Rin is calling to report that she found a _kappa_ in a well and _nukekubi_ haunting Eowyn's room," he reported with a snort.

The girl frowned. "Let me talk to her,"

Susano'o shrugged and handed over the headset, which Anko snatched as soon as she walked over.

"Yo, have you been trying to get in contact for long? For an hour! Sorry about that, we were using the radio for other things. So yōkai are in Minas Tirith? Weird. Anyway, is anything else interesting going on?"

As the purple-haired girl gossiped, three other translucent elves emerged from the trees. One wore a mask baring a canid face, another an impressive helmet, and the third reminded Pippin strongly of the elf lord Glorfindel. All three bore sickles, tied to a belt with rope, their crescent blades dripping and scattering blood as the elves' stride jostled the tool.

"_Where were you three?__" _snapped the non-scythe-carrying elf woman.

"_Doing our job, unlike you, Luhtindë, or you, Loenil__,"_ snapped the helmeted elf, looking at the each woman in turn. _"__Do not think that you two were the only ones listening to directions__,"_

Luhtindë huffed, clearly offended. Loenil gave the three a large and sheepish smile. _"__Well, we did have to inform someone of our duties. In any case, where are Mornano and Arnon?__"_

The Glorfindel look-alike sighed. _"__Still chasing Gîl, I am afraid. They did do their duty and slaughter creatures, for we found fading carcasses here and there. I do hope the little one is alright.__"_ He looked over at the shinobi, particularly Kakashi. _"__What in Eru's good name are those creatures?__"_

Kakashi shrugged. "We call them yōkai, but we don't really see them about, and they don't really bother us."

The third elf pouted rather childishly and crossed his arms. _**"Why did they have to bother us then?" **_he whined, the voice echoing throughout Pippin's mind, much to the Took's annoyance.

It happened quite suddenly, but first there was the rustling of leaves and branches, then a blur, and finally a strong breeze as somebody tore past them and into the camp. Pippin groaned when he realized that his pipe had been completely snuffed out, and scrambled for another match.

"That must have been Hoshi," Gandalf remarked placidly, puffing on his still-lit pipe. "I wonder what is causing him to run like that,"

Loenil frowned at the wizard. _"__Who is Hoshi?__"_

"The one you refer to as 'Gîl'," he replied.

No sooner had that sentence had left the wizard's tongue did Hoshi reappear, running at the same breakneck pace, but now carrying something. Pippin quickly stepped back, and shielded his newly lit pipe. Merry was too slow, and the short, but strong gust utterly snuffed the small embers. The Brandybuck growled in frustration, and dug into his pockets to find another match.

Looking around, Pippin noticed the mask-wearing elf had disappeared. Anko had finally broken away from her conversation, and was staring at the four translucent spirits.

"Look, there are some potentially dangerous spirits in Minas Tirith, so can at least one of you go down there and help my friend get rid of them?" she asked rather demandingly.

"_Loenil and I will go,__"_ Luhtindë declared, her tone surprisingly commanding. _"__Harpaner, you are in charge. Make sure that the five of you meet up with us at Minas Tirith.__"_

They looked ready to go, but Loenil turned to Gandalf, a rather sheepish expression on her face._"__Apologies, but where is this place?__"_

The wizard tapped his lip with his pipe. "Do you happen to know were Minas Arnor is?"

Luhtindë nodded, an expectant look on her face.

"Exact same place, the name just happens to have changed," finished Gandalf with a somewhat sly smile on his face.

The woman scowled, and stormed off. Loenil smiled and gave him a wave goodbye. Pippin watched them go, literally walking through the crowd of men, provoking yells of surprise and one startlingly shrill shriek, which undoubtedly came from Minato. Less than a minute later, Aragorn emerged, closely followed by Orochimaru and Eomer.

"What is going on?" asked Eomer rather gruffly. "What are they doing here?"

The Glorfindel look-alike waved cheerfully at the man, who glared at the elf as if the spirit had insulted the Rohir's mother. The helmeted one, Harpaner, Pippin thought, was staring emotionlessly into the dark beyond the ring of trees.

"The shinobi have a particular way of dying which requires a guide, and I fear that some of their more nasty creatures and spirits have begun to trespass," explained Gandalf. "I believe that you remember the seven by the Black Gate. They have been recruited to mind the shinobi and ensure our safety."

"Fantastic," said Orochimaru rather lightly. "Hate to change the subject, but where is the one you like to call 'Gîl'?"

"_He is somewhere in the woods__," _answered Harpaner. _"__He passed through here a minute or so ago to fetch something.__"_

"Why is he in the woods?" asked Aragorn rather quietly.

The helmeted elf shrugged. _"__He was safer here, but he passed through with no explanation. He was in the woods when he summoned us, but I do not know why.__"_

"_Gîl did not deliberately summon us, he was in the woods because he was burying some bird bones,__" _snapped the other elf. Harpaner merely rolled his eyes.

A thoughtful look crossed Gandalf's face. "What did you encounter in the woods?"

"_Nightmares,__" _replied the Glorfindel look-alike with an almost comical sincerity.

"_Stop being over-dramatic,__" _commented the helmeted elf tonelessly. _"__The creatures were rather alien, and many were disturbing. However, each one was far from nightmarish.__"_

"Describe them," said Merry, surprising everybody. "I want to know what you found and killed out there."

"And for the love of whoever the hell runs your cosmos, SPEAK WESTRON!" snapped Orochimaru. "I can't understand a damned word that comes out of your godforsaken traps."

"Hear, hear!" chimed in both Anko and Susano'o.

Both elves wore expressions of shock and offence on their translucent faces.

"I do not think that it would kill you to be polite," sniffed the Glorfindel look-alike shortly.

"Just tell us what you found Blondie," replied the Serpentine man with an eye roll.

"It's Colfinnor!" fumed the (apparently) blonde elf

"We encountered and disposed of a red-skinned, horned, orc-like being that was clad in striped furs and carried a club; a deer-like creature with fish-like scales and whiskers with one horn in the middle of its head; a horde of two-tailed cats and foxes; and a strange, dog-like creature with round ears that was drinking from small cups, that were filled from a gourd," interrupted Harpaner, who scowled throughout his delivery of that miniature speech.

"An _oni, kirin, nekomata, kitsune, _and_ tanuki…_" Anko muttered, before an angry look took over her face. "What the hell man?! Only one of those was dangerous!"

"We are not allowed to make exceptions," Harpaner informed the girl haughtily. "None belong here, so all must go. And I am not a man."

"Sorry Miss," replied Anko somewhat sourly.

The elf looked so offended that even Aragorn chuckled. "I am not a woman!"

"Sorry again! How was I to know that you did not identify as male or female?" shouted Anko

"I do identify as male!" he returned, a look of fury on his face.

Colfinnor was howling with laughter. "It is a turn of phrase, my friend!"

"I am not your friend," snarled Harpaner. "My one friend here has happened to have gone missing."

"_I do not suppose you are referring to our monolingual, brown-haired buddy?__"_

Pippin turned to face the speaker. He had two translucent spirits to choose from, both looking rather cranky, and both dripping wet.

"Speak Weston please," snapped Orochimaru. "I would prefer not to be excluded."

"You!" snarled the crankier elf of the duo, glaring at the shinobi, his fingers twitching with a suppressed urge, and Pippin figured that it certainly was not the desire to embrace the foreigner.

"Yes, me. And you are Mornano, are you not?" Orochimaru replied lightly.

The elf glowered at him, but did nothing. Harpaner was talking to the other elf.

"Have you seen Nénaquen, Arnon?" he asked, sounding rather concerned.

"He is helping Gîl riverside," Arnon replied, his words coated with a thick accent. "Gîl decided that he wanted to take some dragon parts for himself, before body disappears."

"A dragon!?" cried Eomer, a shocked expression on his face.

"That is what Gîl told us what it was," the elf replied with a shrug. "It does not look like any dragon I have ever seen."

As if on cue, Pippin picked up the sound of singing coming from the woods. Kakashi finally perked up from his scroll.

"Looks like they are coming back," he commented.

Orochimaru seemed to be more interested in the elves that had just arrived. "It must have been difficult to kill a dragon with only sickles."

Mornano scoffed. "They grow into scythes if you will it, but I admit that they do not do much good."

"Gîl was the one who actually managed to kill the dragon," Arnon interjected.

"He was running from it the entire time! The only reason he even landed a hit was because the foolish beast tried to eat him," retorted Mornano.

"And then Gîl stabbed its brains out with Narsil!" finished the elf triumphantly.

There was an absolute hush among the small group. The men nearby were howling out a song about stars, and coincidently enough Pippin could hear Hoshi and Nénaquen singing a ditty about dancing stars.

"Did you say that Gîl killed the dragon with Narsil?" asked Aragorn, in a tone that was chillingly calm.

Arnon seemed to notice Aragorn for the first time, and was not oblivious to what the man's tone was indicating.

"I have no idea where he would have gotten the blade," the elf replied somewhat fearfully and defensively. "He returned with it when his other weapons simply went through the beast. Though, in my opinion, he should have tried to find another blade that would have fit his skill level."

"Which would mean that Gîl should have never looked for a sword in the first place!" snapped Mornano. "He is positively awful at swordplay!"

"I would not say he is that bad," replied Arnon. "He just needs practice."

"Who needs practice?"

Pippin yelped in surprise and dropped his pipe when he jumped. There was Hoshi, standing innocently behind him, holding jars which were filled with disgusting body parts, and with Andúil strapped to his belt, with the tip of the sword dragging in the grass. The boy's dark hair was made darker with damp, and strands were sticking out in wild directions. The blue paint on his skin was running, dying his collar blue.

Aragorn looked furious. "You are in a great deal of trouble, my son."

The Took could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end when those deceptively calm, cold words were uttered. Hoshi whimpered.

"I am sorry! I am really, really sorry, and I swear-" the pale boy cut off his own apology when Aragorn crossed his arms, and the boy looked at his feet.

"Do you understand what you just did?" the tall man asked quietly.

Hoshi hesitated and looked up, a confused expression on his face. "I do not know," he replied, somewhat desperate. "I want to say I do…"

Aragorn raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what you do know,"

The command was said gently, but Hoshi did not seem to loosen up.

"I just stole your sword, and stealing is a bad thing. It is also one of symbols of your legitimacy and claim, and it would be a bad thing if I lost or broke it." The boy was so ashamed by the end that his face was hidden in the jars.

The ranger's face softened, and he walked over and knelt down in front of the lanky child. The man reached out, and gently tipped Hoshi's head back up, so they were looking eye to eye.

"I know you know better, and I do not expect for you to repeat something like this in the future," Aragorn said firmly. "If you need to borrow something of mine, I would prefer it if you would come ask me about it, alright?"

Hoshi nodded vigorously, still shamefaced. Pippin picked up and dusted off his pipe, but the remaining amount of pipeweed left in the bowl was unsalvageable. Aragorn carefully removed the sword, then returned to his full height, and somewhat awkwardly patted the boy on his head. A small smile appeared on Hoshi's painted face.

Mornano was still scowling as he strode over to the child, and removed an organ-filled jar from the haphazard clutch.

"Why do I get the feeling that you are not supposed to have these?" questioned the elf with a hiss and narrowed eyes.

Nénaquen slinked forward, lifting his hand with his index finger raised. _**"I told him that, but he just ignored me."**_

"Why do you want dragon organs anyway?" asked Merry, puffing on his still-lit pipe.

"I can use them as ingredients for things," Hoshi answered as Mornano eyed the jar suspiciously.

"Well then find a dragon when you return to the shinobi's world, because we have to destroy these," snapped the elf as he snatched up the remaining jars.

"You cannot be serious?!" the boy cried indignantly.

"There is a minuscule chance that the dragon could reform around these organs," said Colfinnor kindly as he relieved Mornano of some of the jars. "Would you like these jars back?"

"If you are going to handle them, he won't be getting them back!" snapped Orochimaru.

Gandalf puffed on his pipe, his eyes narrowing. "Why is that?" he asked.

The pale man huffed. "Blondie will cause the jars to explode," he explained.

Colfinnor was indignant. "I have a name! And I would not cause the jars to explode-"

Orochimaru crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. "Do you know that your method of vaporizing things would produce too much pressure for the jar to handle?" he asked condescendingly.

The elf looked absolutely murderous. "How dare you talk to me like I am a child! I thank you for the warning, but I know enough to understand what I am doing."

"Oh?" the serpentine shinobi did not seem to believe him. Gandalf looked strangely interested. Pippin glanced at Hoshi who looked both cross and rather confused.

"Can we just stop ranting on stupid science stuff?" the boy asked as Gandalf plucked one of the jars out of Mornano's hands.

"I think that it is less about the natural laws of the universe and more about Orochimaru desiring the dragon organs for himself," Gandalf remarked causally.

The shinobi turned away from the ghostly elf and sneered. "Now why would I want these organs?"

The wizard raised an eyebrow. "Obviously you would prefer hominoid organs, but this is the next best thing, is it not?"

Pippin felt lost, and exchanged a look with Merry, who shrugged. Why on earth was Gandalf needling the serpentine man?

"What can he do with organs that would benefit him?" Eomer asked, waving his hand at the long-haired shinobi.

"Maybe he is looking for a way to replace failing organs with healthy ones?" proposed Aragorn, a curious expression on his face. "Some of the men in Harad are trying to do that, or at least they were when I last visited the area."

"Good for them!" snapped Orochimaru, waving his hand around. "Finally some goddamn scientific process in this world!"

"Wait a minute…" yelled Anko, her hands held up and eyes narrowing. "These are DRAGON organs, right?"

Everyone turned to look at Anko, the answer written on their faces.

"Yes…" replied Hoshi, the unsaid _"Your point is?"_ hanging in the air.

"Why the hell would YOU need something that extends your life span?" The girl asked, waving her arms at him.

Orochimaru gave Hoshi a questioning look, as did Colfinnor. Aragorn actually looked rather sad, and Gandalf himself was gazing at the child with pity in his eyes. Merry and Eomer did not seem to care about the conversation, and simply waited for Hoshi's response. Pippin glanced over to Mornano, who was busily cleaning out the jars. He only had one left.

"Why would I want to live any longer than the time that is given to me?" the boy replied shortly. "Lengthening one's life like that is unnatural and does not lead to happiness. I was intending to give them to my clan as a gift for all that they have done for me, and they could do with it as they please."

Kakashi put his hand on his heart, and struck a dramatic pose, scroll in hand. "You wound me, teammate. After all this time you would only give this gift to Obito?"

Hoshi ground his teeth and whirled around to face Kakashi, pointing at his teammate accusingly. "You and I are the only ones on this team who are going to die of old age!"

A silence stretched out between the group. Kakashi dropped his hand and deflated, looking down at his feet. Hoshi retracted his arm, an apologetic look on his face.

"Geez," grumbled Susano'o. "Can't you predetermine anything positive?"

Hoshi suddenly turned thoughtful; his eyes focus on the stars above and his left hand rubbing the point of his ear. "Well, Jiraiya's next book series will be a success." He said with a shrug.

Susano'o glared at him. "That's the best you can come up with?"

The pointy-eared boy bristled. "Well I don't see you being aware of future events."

"Well, I wouldn't want to if it is all doom and gloom," the copper-skinned child replied, slouching against the radio.

Hoshi rolled his eyes. "It isn't all doom and gloom." He grumbled. "It's mostly about the damn weather."

Aragorn gave the boy a fond look. "You say that as if it was a bad thing"

"Yes," mocked Susano'o, tossing his head back and gazing smugly at Hoshi. "Enlighten us on wheatear or not it is going to rain tomorrow?"

"Or we could break your legs and then they can predict the weather for you," Hoshi hissed, his eyes narrowed threateningly.

The copper-skinned boy clutched his heart, his jaw hanging open in overdramatic shock. The ghostly elves were all staring at him in shock.

Colfinnor gasped. "You would do that?" he said, his eyes wide.

"He better not," warned Aragorn, leveling a stern look at Hoshi, who seemed to be properly chided.

Eomer sighed. "You get used the things that they say."

Kakashi looked up, surprised. "We are not that outrageous, are we?"

"Children who also happen to be assassins, not outrageous in the slightest," grumbled Eomer, shooting a look at Aragorn. The tall man shrugged. Pippin exchanged a glance with Merry, who puffed on his pipe and raised his eyebrows.

"_They are more outrageous than they think,"_ thought Pippin.

Gandalf cleared his throat, causing everyone to look up. The Took wondered what he was going to say.

"As… wonderful our topic of conversation has been, I believe that Orochimaru has a message to deliver," he gestured to the pale shinobi, who nodded.

"Prepare a clone to leave tomorrow morning for Isengard," he said, leveling his serpentine gaze at Hoshi. "I and…" he turned to Eomer. "What is the name of the fellow who is accompanying us?"

"Oswin," Eomer replied with a scowl.

"Oswin and I will accompany you," finished Orochimaru, fixing look at Hoshi.

Hoshi rubbed his ears, a concerned expression on his face. "How early are we leaving, and when do we have to arrive?"

"We should be ready to leave an hour after sunrise, and we should be there by mid-day," the pale man replied.

Eomer snorted. "You seem to be under the impression that it is a short journey." He said with a smirk.

"It will be if we fly," Orochimaru replied, fixing Hoshi with a loaded look.

Mornano looked at Hoshi, then at the man, then back at Hoshi, wearing an incredulous expression on his face. "You are saying-?"

Orochimaru turned and glared at the elf. "He can summon falcons, some the size of your eagles. The only way he is flying is if someone threw him," snapped the shinobi.

"Whoa, whoa," Hoshi said, holding up his hands. "No more tossing me around, okay?"

"_**What about this?"**_asked Nénaquen with a scowl on his face. Pippin looked over at the elf, who had a round, exceedingly fluffy, _something_ gnawing his hands. Mornano stood behind Nénaquen and whispered something in his ear, a villainous grin on his pale face. A cheery smile bloomed across Nénaquen's face. Everyone else regarded the two in a wary manner.

"_**Think fast!"**_he cried cheerfully, hurling the thing at Hoshi. The boy, looking scared out of his wits, preformed a few hand gestures just as the object hit him.

"What the ever loving-OOOOW!" howled Obito as the thing, which turned out to be an odd, fat, dog-like creature, sank its teeth into his arm. Hoshi, standing off to the side, looked horrified.

"I am so sorry!" he cried, grabbing the creature's torso and yanking at it.

"Get this rabid _tanuki _off my arm!" wailed Obito, hitting the poor critter's head with his fist

"I am trying!" Hoshi replied, frustrated.

Pippin winced as he watched the two. They were going about the whole thing the wrong way. Not that he knew a better way, but the critter deserved not to have its head bashed.

Anko, Susano'o and Kakashi were wheezing with laughter, not even attempting to help the two boys. The ghostly elves had made themselves scarce, which was quite cowardly of them in Pippin's opinion. The Took looked up at Gandalf, who appeared to be very startled by the whole thing. The Wizard turned his gaze to Aragorn, who was eyeing the two boys uneasily. Eomer was also staring at Obito and Hoshi, a strange look on his face.

"Shouldn't you be helping them?" the Rohir asked Aragorn.

"Hoshi has to ask for my help," the ranger replied, a very concerned look on his face. "Hoshi-?"

"I can do it myself _ada_!" the boy replied with great annoyance through gritted teeth.

Obito sputtered. "Wha-, why won't you let him help?!"

"Have some faith in me, _gwador nin_!" Hoshi replied while grabbing the animal's jaws.

"Well forgive me if I want a professional rather than an amateur!" Obito snapped.

At that moment Hoshi finally succeeded in detaching the creature from his broth  
>er's arm. Unfortunately for him, the fluffy thing wanted revenge.<p>

"MOTHERFUCKER!" screamed Hoshi, the animal now fastened onto his left hand.

Without missing a beat Aragorn strode over and seized the animal by the throat. After a few minutes the creature let go. He placed it on the ground, and it scurried away.

Pippin found that his mouth had dropped open in shock. He turned to Merry, who turned to him, both of their eyes wide with surprise. Both Gandalf and Eomer were having a coughing fit that sounded suspiciously like chuckling. The Took looked back at Aragorn, who was utterly ignoring everyone except for Hoshi, who appeared to be just as floored as everyone else.

"Let me see your hand," Aragorn asked, crouching down, pulling a pouch out of his cloak. Hoshi complied, and the ranger took it gently, applying an ointment on the wounds and wrapping the hand.

A snort, followed by badly stifled giggling drew Pippin's attention over to Obito, who appeared to be positively tickled pink by the events.

"You are in a good mood for someone who has just been bitten," Aragorn remarked, walking over to the black-haired boy, who happily surrendered his arm into the ranger's care.

Obito grinned. "You simply reminded me of my dad. He makes jokes like that all the time!"

Hoshi's eyes widened and his brother looked over to him and grinned like a cat that had caught a bird. Hoshi began to mutely shake his head, and make a myriad of other frantic gestures that clearly meant 'no', all the while Obito slowly and mischievously nodded 'yes'.

"Oh?" Aragorn replied, not looking up as he treated the bite. "What sort of jokes are those?"

Obito half shrugged. "Well, he'd say a lot, I mean a lot of bad puns."

The ranger hummed, sounding thoughtful. "Such as 'Why are skeletons so calm? Because nothing gets under their skin', 'What did the ocean say to the shore? Nothing, it just waved'?"

Hoshi groaned and fell flat on his back, scowling at the stars. Anko and Susano'o were looking on with amusement, while Kakashi was staring at Aragorn with surprise.

"Is something the matter Hoshi?" Aragorn asked mildly, finishing putting the bandages on the bite.

"I'm fine," the lanky boy mumbled. "I've just had a long day."

"Haven't we all?" muttered Merry.

Pippin found himself futilely suppressing a yawn. Indeed, it was very dark out, and the Took found himself longing for sleep. At that moment he felt Gandalf gently touch his shoulder.

"I think that the hobbits and I are going to turn in for the night," he announced quietly.

Pippin nodded in agreement as the others murmured their farewells, and Gandalf steered both Merry and him toward their tent.


	44. Chapter 44

**AN**

**Holy moly, it has been awhile. I am so sorry for keeping you waiting. I hope that this will make up for it. Thank you to everyone who reads, favorites, follows, and/or reviews. You all are awesome. Thanks for the support and on with the show.**

* * *

><p>Eowyn tried and failed to stifle a sigh. "Can you tell me again why we are here?"<p>

Lothíriel, a newly constant companion of hers, gave her a look and a shrug. "You said that you wanted to get out of the Houses."

The two women were standing in front of an unremarkable stone building tucked away in the also unremarkable fourth level of Minas Tirith. A week had come and gone since Sauron was defeated. The main forces of Rohan and Gondor were still at the Field of Cormallen, 'living it up' as Anko reported. The rest of the shinobi had returned six days ago without any fanfare and all, including Rin, proceeded to make themselves scarce. Hoshi was the sole exception. The boy had eagerly returned to Faramir's service and Eowyn saw him often enough around the Steward. Hoshi was the one who had given her the address of their new residence, and eagerly extended an open invitation as he ran off on some errand.

"It is a shame that we cannot spend some more time with my cousin," Lothíriel drawled, looking at the simple door with calculated nonchalance. The healer's eyes darted back to look at Eowyn, who scowled at her friend as she tried to stifle her rising blush.

"The Steward is very busy," Eowyn replied shortly. "Who knows what the shinobi are doing? Hoshi has invited us, and it would be somewhat rude to never accept his invitation."

The Rohir decisively strode over to the door and rapped on the plain, pale wood. A few minutes passed, and then the door cracked open.

"Ah! If it is not the Ladies Eowyn and Lothíriel!" cheerfully declared Loenil, the ghostly shinobi spirit-exterminator of an elf.

Eowyn blinked, rather surprised, and glanced over at Lothíriel. The olive-skinned woman had paled slightly, and glanced back at her with discomfort brimming in her eyes.

"It is very good to see the both of you!" the ghost prattled on, seemingly oblivious. "Everyone will be so pleased that you are here! It has been busy, busy around here. Lots of spirits, and more shinobi have arrived. Oh, but where are my manners? Come in!"

The foyer was small and furnished with iron cloak-hooks, a table with a dirt-filled pot atop it, and a small stool which sported a lamp-like object that was smoking. The air smelt sweet and earthy, and light filtered through the small window above the door, adding to the fire of the lantern hanging from the ceiling's center. Eowyn and Lothíriel were barely given a moment to hang their cloaks before the spirit eerily swept behind them and urged them into a narrow hallway.

"They are in the kitchen," chirped Loenil as she swept them to the end of the dim hall and sharply to the left. They stumbled into a bright kitchen that was decorated so charmingly that it made Eowyn feel a little ill. Rin, Obito, Anko, and Kuro were sitting at a rough wooden table, playing some sort of card game, which was forgotten as Loenil swept them in.

"Eowyn!" cried Anko, leaping out of her seat and tackling the blonde in a giant hug. "It's good to see you!" she said with a giant grin.

Eowyn awkwardly returned the hug, but happily permitted a smile to appear on her face. Rin was already chatting with Lothíriel, while Obito simply gathered up the cards with a small smile on his face. Once Anko released her, Kuro waved the two of them over.

"Come sit!" he invited gesturing to a chair to his left. Eowyn took it, and glanced over at the ghost, who was gleefully watching them from the threshold.

"Call me if you need me," sang-sung Loenil before she vanished.

There was a moment of silence as everyone watched her go. Then Obito sighed.

"She has the giddiness of someone who knows about something the rest of us don't," the boy remarked as he shuffled the deck.

Lothíriel shuddered. "I do not want to know what that is! She and her companion are so off-putting!"

Eowyn nodded in agreement, but frowned slightly. "If it were not for them then who knows what creatures would be crawling around here."

Anko sighed and slumped down to the table with a frown. "Most of them are harmless though," she grumbled.

"Maybe to your people," sniffed Lothíriel. "One of them tried to bite my ankles just this morning!"

Eowyn kept an amused smile from appearing, trying to be sympathetic to her friend's discomfort. She had to agree with Anko; these "yo-kai" were mostly harmless. They loved to pester Lothíriel, however, as well as most of the population of Minas Tirith. She had watched medicine jars spring to life, frightening healers. It was not uncommon to wake up to half of your belongings missing, and most of them returned when you woke up in the morning. Eowyn was surprised how quickly the daily interactions with the shinobi's annoying spirits were becoming small talk. However, she wished to change to topic.

"When did you all return?" she asked.

"A couple hours ago," Kuro answered. "Kakashi and Susano'o wanted to spar some more, so they're still out in the mountains. The first team passing through was slated to arrive at Minas Tirith today, so we thought that it would be a good time to pop in and say hi."

Eowyn frowned. "More shinobi are coming?"

"Yep!" said Obito. "Our country is at war with another country, and we are using your world as a short-cut and safe zone to get beyond their boarder."

There must have been a tremendously displeased expression on Eowyn's face because Obito looked a bit frightened. He put his hands up soothingly.

"We agreed on this fair and square," the boy said. "We are basically mercenaries, and we can't exactly go back home empty-handed. Besides, Konoha shinobi pretty well behaved, as you have seen, and they'll only be hanging around Isengard, Minas Tirith, and Kill-it un-goal ("_Cirith Ungol_," Eowyn mentally corrected). Not to change the subject so quickly, but how is your arm?"

Eowyn glanced down at the cast, now covered with names and well-wishes. "It is feeling better, but the cast continues to be rather annoying."

There was a quiet clatter of ceramics as Rin had stood up at some point and fetched several cups, and dropped several small jars of tea leaves in the center of the table.

"That's good!" said the little brunette. "How is Faramir doing?" she added with a mischievous smirk.

Lothíriel giggled as Eowyn pursed her lips and leveled a warning look at Rin, who gazed back expectantly.

"Why don't you ask Hoshi?" she returned somewhat primly, pleased that for once she was not blushing at the mention of Faramir. "He has spent more time with him."

Obito chuckled, glancing though the threshold, across the hall. "We would have to wait until sensei and the others are done," he said, fiddling with a mug. "And that might take a while. Tea?"

Eowyn took the offered mug and looked through the neatly labeled jars of tea alongside Lothíriel, who happily helped herself to an orange tea. Eowyn took peppermint.

The quiet moment was disturbed by a very polite rapping at the front door. The children perked up, the very picture of curiosity.

"Who could that be?" asked Kuro, making a move toward the hall.

"I've got it!" sang-sung Loenil from somewhere in the house, prompting Kuro to sit back down.

Eowyn could hear the door creak open, but at that moment the kettle screamed from its spot in the fireplace, preventing her from discerning who the new arrival was. Anko took the kettle from the fire and was generously pouring the steaming water into their mugs. There was a heavy and rapid tread through the hall, and the next thing she knew was that Faramir was standing in the threshold, a bemused expression on his fair face. His hair was a great deal darker then when she last saw him. He was dressed in dark blues, and carried a sheaf of papers under his arm. Loenil lingered behind him and looked right at Eowyn. She returned the gaze, and the ghost waggled her eyebrows suggestively while using her head to gesture to Faramir. Eowyn decidedly looked into her mug, trying to keep from blushing out of sheer embarrassment.

"Hello Faramir!" greeted Rin cheerfully. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please," he replied, sounding still befuddled.

"Come sit!" invited Obito, smacking the table. There was a soft rasp of wood against the stone floor as Faramir took the empty seat across from her. Eowyn dared to look up from her tea, and, just her luck, her eyes met his. A small, but bright smile crossed his face.

"I had no idea that Hoshi decided to have company over," he remarked, mostly to her it seemed.

Eowyn laughed softly. "Nay, we all simply decided to invite ourselves over. None of us have seen our host as of yet."

"Ah. Do you have an idea of where he might be?" he asked, still quite focused on her. Eowyn couldn't bring herself to be displeased by that. "He was supposed to pick up these papers, and give me a few others."

"Well, he should be in that room," answered Lothíriel, leaning on Eowyn's shoulder, pointing to the closed door across the hall. "According to Obito some other shinobi have arrived and being processed right now."

As if on cue the door flew open and a skinny, dark-haired youth stormed out of the room fluidly cursing in what sounded like slightly mangled Sindarin. Minato poked his head out of the door a second later.

"Hello Faramir, Eowyn, Lothíriel. Lovely day today isn't it?"

Eowyn nodded mutely. There was another beat and Anko broke the silence.

"Hoshi isn't in there is he?" she stated dryly.

Minato nodded. "Teithon said that he hadn't seen him at all today. We thought that we were doing pretty well but Teithon isn't as literate as either of us would have hoped, Hoshi seemed to have neglected to explain some facets of our culture, so we have been having some trouble."

"What the hell is so bad about rescuing dogs?!" snapped a gruff female voice.

"If I remember correctly that started a gang war. It also makes you a thief" replied a very even, if not a bit distracted, voice.

"What they were doing to those dogs was wrong!" retorted the women.

"I share your sentiment, but what if there is a custom here that you cannot stand? Remember, we are not supposed to interfere with their customs and affairs," added a rather condescending male voice.

The woman growled, clearly frustrated. "How are we supposed to tell the difference?"

"You act as if we are going to be lingering here for a great amount of time," replied Orochimaru smoothly. "Trust me; the area we will be around the most is quite depopulated. That reminds me…"

There was the sound of creaking wood and a moment later Orochimaru's head poked into the kitchen.

"Would you mind indulging us for a moment, Faramir? We will be going through Ithilian regularly and we would like to know more about it before we go in."

Faramir nodded, his posture and mien the very picture of business. "Of course," he replied, standing up and joining the shinobi in the room across the hall. Minato disappeared in with them.

Obito and Kuro simultaneously released a long sigh, and a look of worry crossed Obito's face.

"I hope Hoshi is okay," he muttered while glancing at the doorway, as if the mere mention of his brother would make him appear. "Or hasn't gotten in trouble. I wonder what he is doing right now?"

"Perhaps he became lost during the night?" suggested Eowyn. The city was a confounding labyrinth to her, and she did not doubt that one could easily get lost in the walls of white stone.

"Not a chance," dismissed Obito with a shake of the head. "He knows Minas Tirith waaay to well. He must have been either spying on or meeting with someone."

"Couldn't he have been doing something fun?" asked Anko, a look of slight disbelief on her face.

"He likes people watching," Obito replied somewhat absently. "and he is more than happy to meet with anyone advantageous who will give him the time of day. He likes going to bars and stuff, so spying is something he finds fun."

Anko rolled her eyes at the boy's reply. "Boring! Hey Ice Princess, what do you like to do for fun?"

"_I still have that nickname, don't I?" _Eowyn thought wryly before replying. "I enjoy riding my horse and sparring, as well as practicing using my sword. I occasionally like gardening."

Rin and Kuro made noises of polite interest. Anko merely nodded, utterly unimpressed. "What about you, Lothíriel?"

Lothíriel fiddled with her cup absentmindedly. "Well, I too like gardening and riding horses," she said with a smile and nod toward Eowyn. "I also like to read and race boats."

"Boat racing? That sound pretty fun," chirped Rin, a curious gleam in her eyes.

Anko leaned in as well, her eyes alight. "Is it dangerous?" she asked.

Lothíriel looked surprised. "But of course it is dangerous! That is part of the fun."

Eowyn suddenly felt her esteem of the Gondorian princess rise. _"Indeed? I would have never pegged her for a thrill-seeker,"_ she thought.

"Do you consider yourself to be a good boat racer?" asked Kuro.

Lothíriel tapped her chin in thought. "I do believe so. I have won a couple races, but that was some time ago. I think that I am rusty."

At that moment the front door opened, and Loenil drifted on her back through the ceiling, floating down like a leaf in the wind.

"Gil and Teithon are back," the ghost announced, as her crossed feet went through Eowyn's head.

Eowyn sputtered and gasped. It felt as if her head had been abruptly submerged in icy, filmy water. To Loenil's credit, the ghost immediately pulled her feet out of the Rohir's face and kept them tucked near her body as she sank through the table. Lothíriel scooped up her cup and scooted her chair as far away from the table as possible, shooting a worried look at the elf. From the hallway came Teithon and Hoshi, seemingly trading insults in mangled Sindarin. Hoshi was dressed in clothes that were more appropriate for a poor farmer than a page, and he carried a battered leather bag that Eowyn presumed was filled with papers.

"_Gondorians certainly love their paperwork,"_ she thought.

The boy looked worn out, with dark circles under his eyes, and his skin taking on a wan quality. His replies to Teithon's statements and questions were delivered quietly. The two seemed to completely ignore everyone in the kitchen as they chatted to each other in their incomprehensible tongue.

"Hey Rin," hissed Anko in a loud whisper. "What are they saying?"

"They are talking about inter-cultural dialogues, but with a lot of veeery strong curse words in between," replied Rin with a quieter whisper.

"How did you get that out of 'If a fox wants ta have a chin-wag wi' a wolf, 'e gotta bring crow stew'?!" interjected Lothíriel with a surprised whisper.

"Our seals translate the slang too, I guess," replied Rin whilst tapping her left ear. "I don't blame you for leaving out the curse words."

"Hey Hoshi, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Obito said with a wide smirk.

Hoshi turned around, a surprised look on his face. "What did I say that is so foul?" he asked.

Teithon's eyes widened. "Don't answer that," he warned Obito, his words colored with a distinctive burr.

Hoshi turned back to the youth with a frown. "That would explain why Ada insists on you all speaking Westron."

Teithon laughed nervously. "Aye, Chief's really big on us sounding civilized an' what-not nigh that we're 'ere, with our usual 'appearance' an' al'. It would be best if ye stuck to what yer parents taught ye. Chief wudn't be too pleased if we made yer into a wee 'ellion like de rest av us."

Hoshi nodded in agreement, a sincere look on his tired face. Loenil stared at the youth with a great deal of interest.

"Did I mention that you Dúnedain have lovely accents?" the ghost stated, with a large smile creeping across her face.

Kuro's dark eyes darted between Loenil and Teithon, his head bobbing along between the two. Eowyn felt a smile grow on her face at the amusing sight.

"He doesn't have an accent," stated Kuro in utter confusion.

"Indeed he does," retorted Loenil somewhat childishly. "All Dúnedain do."

"We haven't heard any accents," stated Rin; the girl glanced at her peers, who nodded in agreement.

"It must be your shinobi magic," dismissed the elf. "It flattens out your ears and tongue."

Hoshi rolled his eyes. "'Tis being understood that matters more than what you sound like," the boy grumbled. Teithon's eyes lit up and the skinny youth nodded in agreement.

"Enough av accents an' what not," he said, fixing Hoshi with a look. "Ye 'av work ter do."

Teithon shepherded the youth out of the hall and into the conference room.

A thought crossed Eowyn's mind and she turned to Lothíriel, somewhat worried.

"Do I have an accent?" she asked.

The healer frowned and shipped her tea. "Not really. Your Westron is very good. I am a bit surprised that you were not taught Sindarin."

Eowyn found herself scoffing a bit at the last remark. "There were more pressing matters to attend to."

"I do not doubt it," replied Lothíriel gently. "But if you are considering marrying into Gondorian nobility, I will gladly help you learn Sindarin," she added with a small smirk

Eowyn raised a brow and smiled at her friend. "And if you so happen to marry a Rohir than I will gladly help you learn Rohirric."

She offered her hand and Lothíriel eagerly grasped it. The children watched them with mild amusement and interest, while Loenil looked utterly confused.

"If I am not mistaken, Lady Eowyn, is not your brother the only eligible Rohir of equivalent rank?" asked the elf.

A sudden snicker came from Obito, causing all eyes to turn on him.

"Did I say something funny?" said Loenil, her odd milky eyes darting from face to face in befuddlement.

"And is there something that you aren't telling us?" Anko asked as her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The boy waved them off, an amused expression on his face. "No, no. Only a funny memory that resurfaced."

\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/\•/\/\/\/

The very next week on the very same day at nearly the very same hour Eowyn and Lothíriel found themselves standing in front of an unremarkable stone building tucked away in the still unremarkable fourth level of Minas Tirith.

"Why indeed are we here again?" Eowyn asked with a sigh.

Lothíriel huffed, a somewhat sour look on her face. "We, _indeed_, are here again because you have refused to do anything else that I suggested for the day."

Eowyn turned to her friend, somewhat affronted. "In what universe is getting measured for a new dress considered a good time? Or embroidering?"

Lothíriel scoffed and rolled her eyes. "It is far better than watching, or angrily glaring in your case, at the soldiers as they spar. Especially since all the good-looking ones are at Cormallen."

One of the male ghostly elves passed by just then, and his blank face changed into one of utter confusion upon hearing the healer's words. But with a dog-like shake of the head his face returned to its blank expression and he floated off. Both she and Lothíriel watched him go.

"Eugh, I hope that we will have someone living to talk to," remarked the healer while pulling the most amusing face Eowyn had seen in a while.

The first thing that Eowyn noticed was that it was surprisingly quite. There was no chatter, no murmuring, not so much as a peep. A noise came from the small dining room just outside the foyer. Inside was a boy around Obito's age in odd dark clothes with a cloth covering his head, examining some of the truly awful porcelain on display.

"Do you recognize him?" whispered Lothíriel.

"No," replied Eowyn, feeling somewhat confused. "He must be one of the shinobi that is going through to the other side."

The other woman sucked in a breath, clearly disapproving. "But he's just a child!"

Eowyn shrugged, and warily headed into the hallway and toward the room across the kitchen. The door was open, and she poked her head in. There was Kakashi and another, unfamiliar boy sitting in the room. The boy had brown hair and seemed to be chewing on a piece of straw while fiddling with something. Kakashi, sitting behind a beat up desk, looked up from a scroll he was reading.

"Hello Eowyn, hello Lothíriel" he greeted mildly. "How have you been?"

"I am doing well, thank you," replied Eowyn.

"And I as well," added Lothíriel with a smile. "How have you been?"

The silver-hair boy shrugged. "I've been progressing," he replied somewhat shortly, before continuing in a sharper tone. "Have you seen Hoshi? I believe that we have a bit of an issue as of now that needs his attention."

The two women shook their head. Kakashi released an exasperated sigh. They heard the front door distantly open and close, and Susano'o tiredly walked into the room, and flopped down on a ratty blue couch. Kakashi glared at him. Susano'o glared back.

"What?" he snapped.

"Well?" prompted Kakashi, his armed folded across his chest.

"Were you actually expecting me to find him?!" cried Susano'o, shooting up in offense.

"Minas Tirith is smaller than Konoha!" retorted Kakashi. "And you always bragged so much about being able to find anybody anywhere-"

"I was exaggerating, okay!?" the other boy whined. "You are the better tracker. You have dogs and crap like that. Why can't you find Hoshi?"

Kakashi growled in frustration, and leaned back into the tall, wooden chair. "I don't _know_ Minas Tirith. I don't feel safe allowing my dogs to track Hoshi here. I haven't the faintest clue where to look for that blasted teammate of mine."

Eowyn glanced over at Lothíriel. "Where do you think Hoshi is right now?" she asked quietly.

The healer frowned back. "Why would I know that? How would I know that?" she returned with a bit of frustration. "I mean, we could have asked Faramir whenever he comes around for business, but I am far too busy being the chaperone while you two make goo-goo eyes at each other and talk waaay too much about horses."

Eowyn found herself scoffing. "We talk about more than horses."

Lothíriel made a face that basically said "sure-you-do", and turned her attention to the brown-haired boy sitting on the floor, watching a little tin wind-up toy of a mouse scuttle around on the thread-bare carpet.

"I am guessing the reason that you need Hoshi is that there are some shinobi who are not supposed to be here." Eowyn asked Kakashi.

The boy's look of desperate exasperation answered her question.

Lothíriel flicked her eyebrows and released a sigh. "Well, while we are waiting, would any of you like tea?"


End file.
